Box Score SALEM - The Roanoke College men's basketball team defeated Virginia Wesleyan for the first time since 2007 with an 84-79 win over the #3 team in the NCAA South Region.  The Maroons now have a record of 11-10, 5-8 ODAC, while the Marlins sit with a 17-6, 10-4 mark in ODAC play.
 
Roanoke's last win over Virginia Wesleyan was on December 1^st, 2007, when the Marlins were the #5 ranked team in the country.  This is the first time in 10 meetings that the Maroons have defeated Virginia Wesleyan, having come close in both contests in the 2012-13 season.  The Marlins had been ranked #16 in the Feb. 2 D3Hoops.com poll, and were ranked #3 in the NCAA South Region entering today's game.
 
Andrew Daniels led the Maroons in scoring, netting 22 points off of a career-high 10 made baskets.  He also finished with two rebounds, two assists and a block.  Daniel Eacho tallied 18 points on the day, shooting 8-11 from the free throw line.  Eacho also pulled down seven rebounds.  Cameron Smith led the team in blocks, swatting away two big shots on the day.
 
Julian Ramirez led the squad in rebounds with a career high 13 boards, matching his scoring for the day, 13 points.  Ramirez dished out five assists, moving his career total to 251.  He is in 10^th place all-time at Roanoke, now just four away from moving into eighth place, passing Hilliary Scott '94 (253) and James Pennix '88 (254). 
 
The Maroons, who have now won four of their last five ODAC contests, brought it early to the Marlins, as Roanoke went up 8-2 in the first three minutes of the game.   Daniel Eacho and Julian Ramirez each scored four points in the opening run.  Through the first official time out of the game, Roanoke still led by six, as Cameron Smith had scored the next six points for the Maroons, taking a 14-8 advantage.
 
Roanoke extended its lead to seven points at the 6:37 mark as Andrew Daniels stepped up with a three-pointer, giving the Maroons the 26-19 advantage.  A pair of old-fashioned three point plays from Daniel Eacho starting at 4:08, grew Roanoke's lead to 11, 34-23.  On the next trip down the floor, DJ Woodmore knocked down a trey to pull the Marlins back within eight, 34-26, but Humphries answered with a layup just a few seconds later.  Each team scored four more points through the end of the half, as Roanoke entered the locker room with a 38-30 lead.
 
The Maroons continued to put the ball up strong in the second half, with Daniels scoring the first points of the half.  The teams traded baskets through the opening minutes of the half, as the Maroons maintained their ten point, lead though the 16:59 mark, 44-34.  After a Ramirez free throw, Virginia Wesleyan went on a 6-2 run to pull within six of the Maroons, 49-43.  There was a two and a half minute scoring drought that ended in a Stefan Vulevic free throw.  Just prior to that, Cameron Smith made a huge block to keep the Marlins from getting within four points.
 
Vulevic's free throw started a 6-2 run that put the Maroons ahead by nine, 55-46.  After a Woodmore three pointer, Andrew Daniels came down the floor and scored in two consecutive possessions.  Seth Bradley followed up at 9:56 with a three pointer from the top of the key, as Roanoke ties its largest lead of the game, 11 points, 62-51. Virginia Wesleyan took a timeout after the Bradley trey, but Roanoke came out of the break on a 7-0 run that gave the Maroons a 17-point, 69-52 advantage. 
 
With 2:22 to play, the Marlins pulled within 10 for the first time since the 10:11 mark, as Woodmore hit a trey to cut the deficit to eight, 79-71.  While the Marlins outscored the Maroons 8-5 over the final two minutes, Roanoke picked up the victory over Virginia Wesleyan, 84-79.
 
The Maroons led in the contest for almost the full 40 minutes, never once giving the Marlins the lead.  The Maroons outshot the Marlins 48.2 to 35.8 percent from the field, holding Virginia Wesleyan, normally a 39 percent team from behind the arc, to just 7-39 from downtown.  The Marlins outrebounded Roanoke 50-41, while the Maroons led in assists 12-3.
 
Virginia Wesleyan's Woodmore led all players in the contest with 28 points, and tied Ramirez with 13 rebounds.  Colby Heard also finished with a double-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds.
 
The Maroons return to action on Monday, February 17^th as they make up a snowed out game against Randolph-College at Bast Gymnasium.  That contest is scheduled for a 7:00 PM start.
 
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