Mary Baldwin senior forward scored 14 points and added two rebounds and two steals in the Fighting Squirrels' 92-55 men's basketball setback Monday in an exhibition game against NCAA Division I Longwood.  It's the second-straight years MBU traveled to the home of the Lancers for an exhibition contest.

Benton had 12 points in the opening 20 minutes as the Fighting Squirrels were within 10 points at the halftime break, 44-34.  The hosts then pulled away in the final 20 minutes, outscoring MBU 48-21 to clinch the victory.

Sophomore guard DJ Via chipped in eight scores, three steals, two rebounds and an assist while sophomore guard Rony Hogarth added six markers and a rebound.

As a team, MBU shot 36.8% from the field (21-for-57), including eight buckets from three-point range, and Longwood finished with a 48-21 rebounding advantage.  The Lancers finished with four players in double digits in the scoring column, led by Johan Nziemi (16 points, 9 rebounds) and Jaylen Benard (14 points, 9 rebounds).

The Fighting Squirrels, who finished the 2025 season with a 14-13 overall record, placed fourth in the USA South standings (7-7 record) and advanced to the conference playoff semifinals, open the new campaign Friday (11/7) with a non-conference showdown at Shenandoah University (7 p.m.).