SALEM, VA--The Virginia Wesleyan College men's basketball team outscored host Roanoke, 39-33, in the second half to take away a 69-63 win over the Maroons on Saturday in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action. The Marlins improve to 7-1 on the season with their seventh straight win, and 2-0 in the ODAC, while the Maroons drop their second straight game to fall to 4-4, 1-1 in league action. The Marlins have won four of the past seven meetings in this series, dating back three seasons.
The Marlins trailed by two points (30-28) with under 20 seconds to go in the first half. After a Roanoke turnover, one of 10 in the first half for the team, Virginia Wesleyan's David Doino hit a jumper from the top of the key, as time expired, to tie the score at 30 heading into the break. The Marlins then came out and controlled play in the second half. The visitors scored the first five points of the second half. After the Maroons tied the score at 35 with 17:51 to go, the Marlins regained the lead and never gave it up. Several times, the Marlins extended their lead out to as many as eight points, the final time coming on a free throw from Louis Park with 1:31 to play.
For the second straight game, Roanoke's Nate Stewart (Christiansburg, VA/Auburn) hit a late three-pointer to cut the lead to three points (that with 32 seconds remaining), but the Marlins made three free throws in the final 0:25 to take the final six-point victory. The Marlins scored their final nine points of the game from the free throw line. The Maroon defense was again a large factor in the loss. The Maroons allowed VWC to make 57 percent (12-of-21) of its field goals in the second half and 52 percent (25-of-48) for the game.
Virginia Wesleyan's 3-2 zone defense threw the Maroons 'out of whack' throughout the game, but they were able to take as much as an eight-point lead in the first half, that coming on a Jared Butler (Springfield, VA/West Springfield) layup with 12:11 to play. The Maroons were then outscored 20-12 the rest of the way, with VWC's Peter Warren sparking the comeback, scoring seven points in the run.
Warren led all Marlins in the game with 19 points, nine coming on three three-pointers, two of which he hit in the first half. Freshman guard Marques Fitch tallied 15 for the Marlins, several coming on driving layups on which he beat his RC defender. David Doino added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Virginia Beach, VA team.
Roanoke Robby Pridgen (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) continued his assault on the scoring column, getting 24 points in the loss. He drained four three-pointers, added four steals, but was the lone Maroon in double-figures. He accounted for 38 percent of the team's scoring. Jason Graffam (Vienna, VA/Marshall) added seven points and seven rebounds.
The Maroons return to action on Sunday as they host the third-ranked Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College at 3:00pm in Salem. The game will be followed by the Roanoke women's team hosting Eastern Mennonite.
