WINCHESTER, Va. - No. 23 Ferrum College used a strong first half shooting performance to fuel an 83-46 USA South Conference men's basketball victory over Shenandoah.

The Panthers (15-2, 4-1 USA South) shot 59 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play to open up a 24-point halftime lead over SU (3-12, 1-3).

After Kevin Kline opened the game's scoring with a layup at 19:39, Marcus Mayo answered with a 3-pointer on the ensuing trip down the floor and Ferrum had a lead it would not relinquish.

Mayo's '3' was the start of an 11-0 run for the Panthers - 3 of the 4 field goals in the spurt came in the paint as FC continually pounded the ball inside.

The lead expanded into double-digits by the 14:24 mark and thanks to 23-7 run from the 10:26 to 1:45 marks, Ferrum led by a half-high 28 with 1:45 remaining.

Derek Mitchell, who leads the league in rebounding, did most of the damage with a 10-point, 11-rebound opening stanza.

The second half brought more of the same as the Panthers scored 23 of the first 29 points of the session and never saw their lead dip below 30 points in the final 18 minutes.

Ferrum dominated on the glass, grabbing 48 of the game's 74 rebounds, while also outscoring Shenandoah 24-11 off of turnovers.

Mitchell finished his night with 18 points and 20 rebounds while Nick English had 20 points on a perfect 10 of 10 performance from the field.

Mitch Dudley was the only Hornet in double figures. He had 13.

Shenandoah takes to the road this weekend for games at Methodist on Saturday and Greensboro Sunday. Game time both days is 4 p.m.