VIRGINIA WESLEYAN, VA--The Roanoke College men's basketball team opened up the new calendar year with just their second loss of the season, an 81-63 setback at Virginia Wesleyan College in Virginia Beach, VA on Saturday. The Maroons fall to 5-2 on the season and 1-1 in the ODAC, while the Marlins, who are essentially the nation's 26th ranked team, improve to 8-0 overall and 2-0 in league play.
The Maroons shot just 39 percent from the field in the loss, making just 22 of their 56 field goal attempts, including just 4-of-16 from three-point range. The Maroons trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, but were able to close to within five points, 38-33, with just over two minutes to play. Things went bad from there, however. With just over a minutes to play in the half, Roanoke's John Rutledge was called for a technical foul, a technical that head coach Page Moir protested until he received a technical of his own. Three free throws and the final field goal of the half gave VWC a 43-33 lead heading into the break.
Twice in the second half the Maroons were able to get within eight points, the second time coming with 17:39 to play in regulation. The Marlins took a double-digit lead with a field goal with 14:00 minutes to go and never saw their lead dip below 10 points again.
Bryan Fasnacht led all Maroons with 17 points, while Jason Graffam scored 13 points and added a game-best 14 rebounds. The Maroons are back in action on Sunday as they travel to Ashland, VA to play the Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College, the nation's eighth ranked Division III squad. The Maroons and Yellow Jackets will get their game underway at 2:00pm.
