Marlins Earn 10th Straight NCAA Trip, Pairings on NCAA.com at 12:30 PM Monday
SALEM, Va. --- One key word defined
Virginia Wesleyan College's effort in a thrilling 77-74 Old
Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) championship victory over the
Hampden-Sydney College Tigers Sunday at the Salem Civic Center ...
balance.
Balance all over the court, ranging from three-point shooting,
free throw production, and overall scoring, to consistent
defensive play that helped to slow down a steam-rolling Tiger
offense. H-SC entered the game averaging 92 points per game through
three tournament victories, including a stunning 68-55 decision
over top-seeded Randolph-Macon College.
Virginia Wesleyan (22-6), which has competed in three straight ODAC
championship games and eight in 11 seasons, won the league's title
for the second time in three years and fifth time overall.
The Marlins also earned the program's 10th straight NCAA tournament
bid and 14th overall. Pairings for the title event will be
announced Monday at 12:30 p.m. on www.ncaa.com.
For now however, the Marlins will celebrate their win, which
started to take shape in the first half when the Virginia Wesleyan
defense set the tone early. VWC limited the Tigers (16-13) to
just 34 points at halftime, keeping standout Khobi Williamson
(Norfolk/Maury) and outside scoring threat Sasha Obradovic
(Belgrade, Serbia/Hawaii Prep) to a combined total of seven
points.
Except for one five-minute stretch late in the first half when H-SC
jumped in front by five points, the Marlins produced timely field
goals, free throws, and rebounds to maintain the
lead. In fact, that Tiger lead was wiped out by an
impressive first-half finish by the Marlins,
led by junior Cameron
Owens (Centreville/Centreville) with four points,
senior Colby Heard (Virginia Beach/Tallwood) with a
dunk, and senior Aaron Clark (Virginia
Beach/Tallwood) with a triple that all combined to give VWC a
36-34 lead at the break.
Mike Murray (Norfolk/Norfolk Christian) scored on a layup to
give H-SC a 38-36 advantage early in the second half, but
the Tigers would never lead again. ODAC Rookie of the
Year Khory Moore (Arlington/Wakefield) drilled
through a triple seconds later to return the advantage to Virginia
Wesleyan.
Virginia Wesleyan pushed out to a six-point advantage several times
in the ensuing minutes, the last at 62-56 with 6:31 remaining in
the game on a Moore layup. But, the Tigers battled back to
tie the game three times in the next three minutes. A pair of
Murray free throws created a 68-68 game with 3:27 on the clock.
Scoring efforts by senior D.J. Woodmore (Virginia
Beach/Landstown), the tournament's Most Outstanding Player,
and Moore drew fouls and the Marlin duo was 4-for-4 from the foul
line, helping VWC to a 72-68 lead and an advantage the Marlins held
to the final buzzer.
Hampden-Sydney closed within a point with 57 seconds remaining and
again with three seconds on the clock, but Virginia Wesleyan
responded with points to knock the Tigers back each time.
Moore hit 6-of-11 field goals, including a game-high 4-of-9
triples, to lead VWC scoring with 21 points. Clark connected
on two triples and hit 8-of-10 free throws to finish with 16
points, followed by Woodmore with 15 points, Owens with 12, and
Heard with 11.
--- This release is
courtesy of the Virginia Wesleyan College sports information
department. ---
www.vwcathletics.com