RICHLANDS, Va. — In the first-ever meeting between the two schools in men's basketball, the Catawba Valley Community College men's basketball team defeated Southwest Virginia Community College 104-68 on the road Saturday afternoon in Region 10 action.

Sophomore guard Zach De La Cruz led the Red Hawks (12-6, 7-4 in Region 10) with a season-high 19 points, including five made 3-pointers.

Fellow sophomores Jonathan McFall and Sal-Bey Young added 15 points apiece in the win for CVCC, while sophomore Jeremiah Keith (12 points) and freshman Tony Hauser (11 points) also reached double figures in scoring.

Southwest Virginia (6-11, 2-10) took an early 29-23 lead with nine minutes left in the first half, but Catawba Valley closed the half on a 28-11 to take a 51-40 halftime lead.

Young led CVCC at halftime with 11 points, while McFall and De La Cruz were just behind with nine and eight points in the half.

In the second half, the Red Hawks outscored the Flying Eagles 53-28 to claim its third-straight win — all of those coming in conference play.

The CVCC men's basketball team continues its string of three-straight road conference games on Wednesday with a Region 10 contest against another set of Eagles — Wake Tech (9-8, 9-2).

Tip off between the Red Hawks and Eagles is set for 7 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C.