SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College men's basketball team defeated the Maryville (TN) College Scots, 72-65, on Wednesday evening to win the championship of the V-Foundation Classic in Salem, VA. The Maroons, who have won seven of the eight all-time Classics, improve to 6-3 on the season, while the Scots fall to 8-3 on the year. In the tournament's consolation game, the Ripon College Red Hawks defeated the Babson College Beavers, 63-49.
Brad Dunleavy (Roanoke, VA/William Fleming) had perhaps the best all-around performance his Roanoke career, scoring 21 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out five assists, and three blocked shots. For his performance in the tournament, Dunleavy was named the Most Valuable Player. In Tuesday's win over Babson, he scored 14 points.
The Maroons won the game in the second half, when they held Babson to just 32.1 percent (9-for-28) from the field and outscored the Scots, 37-28. The Maroons trailed at the break by two, 37-35, but took the lead with 16:03 to go and never looked back. The Maroons controlled the second half despite committing 12 of their 16 turnovers in the frame.
The Maroons trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, but went on a 12-4 run to close out the frame to trim the lead to two points at the intermission.
Robby Pridgen (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) dominated the Scots from the perimeter in the win, draining six of his 11 three-point attempts and finishing with 20 points. All of Pridgen's field goals came from behind the three-point line. Colby Leftwich (Roanoke, VA/Patrick Henry) was RC's other selection the All-Tournament team, finishing Wednesday's game with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Maryville was led by the duo of Matt Ennen (Maryville, TN/Maryville) and Joe Ballard (Strawberry Plains, TN/Carter) who both finished with 13 points. Ennen also had 11 boards in the game and along with Ballard was named to the All-Tournament team.
