VWC Defeats Guilford in All-ODAC Quarterfinal

Virginia Beach, Va. --- Junior TonTon Balenga led five Virginia Wesleyan College students in double-figure scoring with 18 points in the Marlins' 81-71 victory over Guilford College in an NCAA Division III men's basketball quarterfinal game Saturday night in the Batten Center.  Virginia Wesleyan (26-4) is ranked fourth in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Guilford (24-5) is ranked 19th.

The Marlins advance to defend their national crown in the Division III semifinals March 16 in Salem, Va. versus Washington-St. Louis University, a 58-55 winner over Hope College Saturday night.  Amherst College plays the College of Wooster in the other national semifinal.

A 12-2 Marlins' run early in the second half broke a 36-36 tie and gave the hosts an insurmountable edge. Junior Tyler Fantin's three-pointer gave Virginia Wesleyan a permanent lead and triggered the break that opened a 50-40 edge with 13:29 remaining. Five different Marlins scored in the up-tempo burst, representative of the team's balanced scoring. Virginia Wesleyan scored most of its points during the spurt in transition against the Quakers, who won a 129-128 triple overtime game with Lincoln (Pa.) University Friday night.

Junior D'Juan Tucker scored all of his 14 points off the bench in the second half and helped the Marlins open a 62-44 lead with 9:54 left. Guilford made it a six-point game with 2:43 remaining on two Ben Strong free throws, but drew no closer. Virginia Wesleyan preserved its 11th win in 12 games by making 14-of-16 free throws in the final 2:46.

Freshman Stephen Fields contributed 15 points off the bench and joined Brandon Adair (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Fantin (9 points, 5 rebounds) as the Marlins' all-sectional tournament team representatives. Sophomore Terrell Dixon made three three-pointers and scored 11 points for Virginia Wesleyan, which has won six straight against Guilford and ended each of the Quakers' last four seasons.

A day after scoring an NCAA Division III Tournament-record 59 points, Strong found enough energy for 34 points and 13 rebounds, both game-highs. He made 10-of-20 field goals and 14-of-16 free throws in his seventh 30-point game of the season. Strong received the sectional tournament's Most Outstanding Player Award after averaging 46.5 points and 15 rebounds in the two games. The 6-11 junior center scored 737 points this year, the fourth-highest point total in 93 Guilford basketball seasons.

Guilford's Jordan Snipes rounded out the five-member all-sectional tourney squad after totaling 17 points and five boards Saturday. The senior concludes his college career with 1,149 career points. His 1,093 markers in three Guilford seasons ranks 23rd in school history.  Teammate Eric Belkoski had 12 points and four rebounds.

The loss ends Guilford's finest campaign since the 1974-75 club went 24-4. The Quakers reached tonight's Elite Eight game by winning their first three NCAA Tournament games since joining the association in 1991.

The Marlins will look to win their second straight national title, becoming the fourth school in the tournament's history to win back-to-back crowns.  Wisconsin-Stevens Point, eliminated by Washington University on Friday night, won the 2004 and 2005 national crowns.  UW-Platteville pulled the trick in 1998 and 1999, and North Park won three straight from 1978-1980.

This article is courtesy of the Guilford College sports information department.