Marlins to Face Randolph or Guilford in Semifinals

SALEM, Va. --- The Washington and Lee men's basketball team saw its 2010-11 season end with a 98-78 loss to Virginia Wesleyan in the quarterfinal round of the ODAC Tournament on Friday afternoon at the Salem Civic Center.

The top-seeded and 10th-ranked Marlins (23-3) shot a scintillating 67.2 percent from the floor (39-58), including 60.0 percent (9-15) from beyond the arc in posting its 20th-straight win over the Generals (14-13).

The Generals, seeded ninth, trailed by just two points (32-30) following a pair of free throws by first-year forward Larry Whitaker (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett). However, a lay up by first-year guard Andrew Cornwell on VWC's ensuing possession was the start of an 18-7 half-closing run that gave the Marlins a 50-37 lead at the break.

VWC hit six of its final eight shots of the opening half, including three three-pointers. Sophomore forward Chris Astorga led the Marlins with 17 first-half points and first-year guard DJ Woodmore chipped in 13.

W&L was unable to cool off the hot Marlins in the second period as VWC made eight of its first 10 shots from the field and used an 18-5 run to start the final 20 minutes to assume a 68-42 lead by the 14:48 mark.

The Generals couldn't mount a comeback as the Marlins continued their hot shooting, finishing the game with the aforementioned 67.2 percent mark from the floor. W&L finished the contest shooting 50.0 percent from the field (29-58) and each team grabbed 27 rebounds.

Astorga finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead the Marlins. Woodmore finished 10-of-13 from the field for 21 points to go along with seven rebounds and junior guard Ed Roberts notched 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.

W&L was led by sophomore center Taylor Gilfillan (Raleigh, N.C./Enloe), who recorded 12 points and five rebounds. First-year guardKevin Gill (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) chipped in 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and first-year forward Jonathan Rice (Fayetteville, N.C./Terry Sanford) tallied nine points and a team-high six rebounds.

For W&L, the 14-13 overall record this season made senior guard Jason Cimino (Branchburg, N.J./Immaculata) the first senior to graduate with four-straight winning seasons since the 1990 senior class.

This release is courtesy of the Washington and Lee University sports information department.