The Mavericks opened up the home schedule Friday night with the Clarion Inn Thanksgiving Classic as they hosted Southern Virginia University. Looking to rebound from a loss two weekends ago to Seattle-Pacific, the Mavs were able to notch their first home win, 79-54.

“For the last week and a half, I just told the guys we need to execute,” Coach Jim Heaps said. “We weren't looking at the scoreboard. We just wanted to put in a great 40 minutes of basketball.”

The first half was a back-and-forth shootout between the teams, with the Mavs shooting 52 percent and the Knights shooting 43 percent. The Mavs hit four three-point shots in the half, going 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Michael Bear led all scorers with 12 points and also pulling in four rebounds. Shawn King added eight points and Jeff Hart had seven points with two rebounds and three assists. Casey Nye led the Knights with 11 points.

The Mavs exploded out of halftime with an 8-0 run. A three by Bear put the Mavs up by double digits, and they only built on to that lead. At one point, the Mavs led by as many as 26 points. They outscored the Knights 40-19 in the half.

Bear recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team in both categories. King finished with 13 points and Hart added 12 points. Mike Melillo chipped in with eight points and nine rebounds.

“We are just looking to execute all the strength that we have,” Bear said. “In order for the posts to be successful, the perimeter guys need to be as well, and we did well tonight. That gave me the comfort to put up shots without really thinking about them, and they felt much better than the past games.”

The Mavs will wrap-up the Classic tomorrow night in Brownson as they face off against Dixie State at 7:00 p.m.

Box Score