SALEM, Va. – Even in their 121^st season of existence, the Guilford College men's basketball team (2-2, 0-0 ODAC) can still make history, and that is exactly what they did at the Cregger Center on Saturday afternoon in the Frankie Allen Tipoff Classic, hosted by Roanoke College, absolutely taking it to Southern Virginia University, 109-93 behind 25-plus points from Reynolds Escher (Atlanta, Ga.), Gabe Proctor (Apex, N.C.), and Braylen Salters (Cleveland, Ohio).

The GC trio is responsible for the program's first instance of three players eclipsing the 25-point threshold in a single game at least since consistent online records begin in 1998-99. Proctor in particular was terrific again, racking up 28 points for the second time in four games, bringing his season total up to 102 already on the year, becoming the fastest Quaker to eclipse the century mark since Ben Strong '08 also reached 100 points within a single season within four games in 2007-08.

The Knights actually out-shot Guilford in the game, shooting at a .579 rate against GC's .443 overall including .400 to .345 from three. But GC had their best night from the charity stripe on the young season, making 21-of-24 as a collective while they attempted 31 more shots than SVU thanks to a plus-20 turnover margin, 32-12, and 15 offensive rebounds against Southern Virginia's six.

Proctor matched his career-best scoring output, set last Friday, by surpassing his prior highs for field goal makes and attempts and three-point attempts and matching his career-high for three-point makes finishing 11-of-24 from the field and 6-of-17 from deep but also enjoyed his most well-rounded showing of the season so far, with a season-high of seven rebounds, four offensive, while matching his career-bests of four assists and three steals on the day. Salters did much of the damage for his 28-point burst at the free throw line, making all-10 of his attempts there while going 8-for-20 from the field and grabbing four boards. Those two have done all this before, but the kicker on this day was Escher who after hovering in the high single-digits in his first four games, exploded for his first-collegiate double-double with 25 points on a superb 11-for-15 from the field while finishing tied for the game-high with 10 caroms and five thefts. Rival Axselle (Mechanicsville, Va.) gave GC a fourth double-digit scorer with 11 points on 5-of-9 while Kody Clayton (Cary, N.C.) filled the box score again, only scoring four points but adding a team-leading six assists and five steals.

Matthew Hale paced SVU in scoring with 19 on 7-of-11 in reserve while Landon Catlett also provided a nice boost off the bench with 15 on 6-for-8 shooting. Tillman Johnson led Knight starters with 15 points along with a game-best seven assists and seven rebounds while DJ Green has a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

Southern Virginia got off to a hot start, pouring in the games first eight tallies on a pair of threes and a layup but three-straight three-point scoring trips via an Axselle make from distance, Salters and-one, and a Proctor trey countered the burst and put Guilford ahead. After dividing the following 10 points, bringing the score to 14-13, the Quakers made their run. Six points from Proctor and another five from Salters highlighted a 17-6 stretch opening the lead to double-digits and a couple scoring plays later, that where it would stand, at 34-24 at the under-eight stoppage.

For the most part, double-digits is where the GC edge would remain for the rest of the opening half of play. SVU got their offense going some, and very briefly got their deficit back to eight a couple times but they could not match GC's offensive outpouring. Racking up their highest point total in a first half so far this season, they went into the locker rooms in the driver's seat for the first time of the year so far, up 53-42.

The game never truly got competitive into the second half as GC put it on the Knights, burying them swiftly with a 26-13 run right out of the locker room, getting the lead above the 20-point threshold. SVU would temporarily get the deficit back under 20 a couple times, thanks to their super-efficient .667 field goal percentage, but never truly made any real dent because they could not possess the ball, committing 18 turnovers. In the half, Guilford saw their lead peak at a season-best 26 points, and the game finish in a 109-93 final score.

The Quakers make their much-anticipated Jack Jensen Court debut next, in a week, when they host preseason No. 3 nationally ranked Emory University inside the Ragan-Brown Field House on Saturday, November 22^nd, tipping off at 2:00 PM.

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