VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. --- A low-scoring tight affair in the first half led to a more wide open second frame as Virginia Wesleyan College used several small bursts to post an 80-71 win over Bridgewater College in the first round of the ODAC Men's Basketball Tournament. The victory sets up the fifth-seeded Marlins with a quarterfinal date with #4 Lynchburg College at the Salem Civic Center on Thursday.
Scoring was sluggish for both teams in the early going. Tim Jones buried a three-pointer at the 10:53 mark to give Virginia Wesleyan (18-8) its largest first-half lead at 14-7. Bridgewater (6-20) chipped away at the Marlins edge and eventually pulled square at 16-all following a Bryce Boggs free throw with 5:46 showing on the clock.
After a brief four-point VWC lead, the Eagles again leveled the score at 21-all following free throws by Kenneth Turner. The Marlins gave themselves a bit of breathing room over the final three minutes with a Lamont Steward layup providing VWC a 28-25 halftime advantage.
Virginia Wesleyan quickly found its footing in the second half, twice going ahead by 14 points with the final instance at the 10:53 on the clock following another Jones' long ball. Bridgewater cut its deficit to single digits on a few occasions, but never too far inside 10 points until under five minutes to go. Two Keonte Dennis charity tosses and a Boggs' layup pulled BC to within four at 63-59 with 3:27 to play.
Khory Moore helped VWC reaffirm its grasp on the game, scoring the next six points combined with two Keijon Honore free throws for a 71-62 advantage with 1:32 to go. Kevin Saylor did his best to bring the Eagles some late life, hitting the final two of his seven three-pointers and burying two free throws, but VWC made 5-of-6 from the line down the stretch to secure the win.
Moore led VWC with 27 points to go with seven boards, while Jones and Honore chipped in 13 points each. Kaelin Poe pulled down a game-best 11 rebounds.
Saylor led all scorers with 32 points on 10-of-19 shooting that included 7-of-15 from downtown. Boggs finished with 12 points.
Virginia Wesleyan Pulls Away for First Round Win Over Bridgewater
#12 Bridgewater
71
#5 Virginia Wesleyan
80
Final | 1 | 2 | T |
---|---|---|---|
#12 Bridgewater (6-20) | 25 | 46 | 71 |
#5 Virginia Wesleyan (18-8) | 28 | 52 | 80 |
#12 Bridgewater
71
#5 Virginia Wesleyan
80
Final | 1 | 2 | T |
---|---|---|---|
#12 Bridgewater (6-20) | 25 | 46 | 71 |
#5 Virginia Wesleyan (18-8) | 28 | 52 | 80 |