VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Wesleyan College head men's basketball coach David Macedo walked off the Donald M. Forsyth Court on Saturday looking a little more content. Maybe even happy. He just watched his No.-1-ranked Marlins turn in a program-record defensive effort en route to posting an impressive 67-34 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory over Roanoke College's Maroons at the Jane P. Batten Student Center.
It was the kind of defensive effort Macedo had waited to see in the early season from his VWC (3-1, 1-0) team that utilized tough defensive play throughout its record-setting, national championship run the previous season. The Marlins were a little more generous than Macedo hoped to see in the first three games this season, but on Saturday they limited the Maroons (1-2, 0-1) to 25% shooting from the field en route to the lowest scoring total posted by an opponent in the 39-year-old history of the Marlins' basketball program. The defensive effort topped the previous VWC record set in 2003 when the Marlins held Gallaudet University to 35 points.
The Marlins forced 24 Roanoke turnovers and recorded 13 steals, led by senior All-American Brandon Adair (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) with four. VWC allowed 19 points in the first half and led 28-19 at the break. But, Roanoke encountered a stepped-up VWC attack at both ends of the court in the second half. The Marlins' pressure defense was a factor in a dismal second-half start for the Maroons, who hit only two of their first 13 field goal attempts and turned the ball over eight times.
Virginia Wesleyan complemented its defensive stand with a balanced offensive assault, ignited by junior TonTon Balenga (Newport News, Va./Warwick) who scored the Marlins' first 10 points of the second half to push his team into a 38-19 lead in the first five minutes. Six additional Marlins contributed to 23-6 VWC run in the first 10 minutes that gave the host team a commanding 51-25 lead with 10:49 remaining to be played.
Matters never really improved for the Maroons as Adair helped push Virginia Wesleyan into a 59-27 lead with 6:07 on the clock. 12 Marlins scored overall, led by Balenga with 18 points and Adair with 15. Roanoke was led by Josh LaPorte and Michael Diggs with six points each.
