The Mary Baldwin men's basketball season came to a close Tuesday night with an 89-73 road loss to Southern Virginia in the first round of the conference tournament.

The sophomore duo of DJ Via (20 points) and Rony Hogarth (19 points) powered the Fighting Squirrels' offense in the postseason matchup. Mary Baldwin came out firing in the first half, jumping to an early 14-6 lead just six minutes into the game. The strong start was highlighted by an emphatic dunk from junior center Jamal Ukaeghbu that energized the bench.

Mary Baldwin controlled much of the first half and built its largest lead of the game at 37-22 with 5:31 remaining before halftime. However, the momentum shifted quickly as Southern Virginia caught fire from beyond the arc. Jude Ballstaedt sparked the Knights' comeback, scoring nine consecutive points from three-point range to ignite a massive 21-2 run to close the half.

Ballstaedt poured in 19 of his game-high 24 points in the opening period, helping the Knights take a four-point lead into the break.

Southern Virginia's efficiency proved to be the difference in the second half. The Knights shot an impressive 54 percent from the field and 57 percent from three-point range for the game. Meanwhile, Mary Baldwin struggled to regain its early rhythm, finishing
11-of-25 from the field in the second half.

Despite a late 10-point run that cut the deficit to nine with 2:15 remaining, the Fighting Squirrels couldn't overcome Southern Virginia's hot shooting down the stretch.

Mary Baldwin concludes its season with an 11-14 overall record and a 5-9 mark in conference play.