He was more content in just getting back to Virginia Beach with a victory, a hard-fought 85-67 non-conference victory over a scrappy Newport News Apprentice School squad on the Builders’ court.
It was anything but easy for the nation’s No. 4-ranked Marlins (7-1), who could not shake off the upset-bent Builders (0-8) until the second half. Adair, the Marlins’ 6-foot-5 All-American senior forward, helped make that happen as he scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the half.
“At halftime coach told us we had to go back out and play with more intensity,” said Adair. “We did that and started to find more openings for jump shots that helped us pull away.”
It did not happen immediately, however. Javius Dixon and Thomas Crawford emerged with key early baskets for Apprentice, cutting Virginia Wesleyan’s 35-30 halftime lead to a point in the first two minutes of the second half.
But, the Marlins did not rattle. Sophomore Terrell Dixon took a pass from Adair and buried a triple that ignited a 12-1 Marlin run to push Virginia Wesleyan out to a 47-35 lead with 13:25 remaining to be played. That was the start of the end for Apprentice, which never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
As Virginia Wesleyan settled in with control of the game, the focus centered on Adair and his quest to become Virginia Wesleyan’s all-time leading scorer. A layup off an assist from senior Thomas Sumpter gave the Marlins that 47-35 lead and increased Adair’s point total in the game to 10. He needed 15 to tie Rick Chalk’s record of 1,666 points compiled from 1990 through 1994.
Less than a minute later Adair moved within three points of the record on a jumper off another assist from Sumpter. Apprentice cut the VWC lead to nine points for the final time at 51-42 on a Terrance Byrant jumper with 11:17 on the clock, before the Marlins extended the lead and kept it at double digits the rest of the way on an Adair jumper.
Junior D’Juan Tucker fired the ball through the Apprentice defense to Adair for the shot, that also drew a foul. The basket moved Adair to 14 points and the ensuing free throw increased his total to 15, tying him with Chalk for the No. 1 scoring position.
A large, vocal VWC following that made the short trip across the Chesapeake Bay, celebrated loudly 59 seconds later when Adair took a pass from Dixon for a layup with 9:55 remaining in the game, establishing a new scoring leader in the 39-year history of the men’s basketball program. Adair’s historic score gave the Marlins a 56-42 advantage.
Apprentice stayed within a 12-point spread behind Crawford and Dixon until the final four minutes. Two free throws by junior Tonton Balenga and a triple from Tucker ignited a 13-0 VWC run that extended the Marlins’ lead to 81-56 on a layup by junior Tyler Fantin with 2:15 on the clock.
That final run included a crowd-rousing dunk by Adair, who took a high lob pass from Fantin and jammed it through the hoop for his final score of the night. He walked off the court as the most prolific scorer in VWC history, but he opted to do his celebrating at some other time this season.
“It’s sounds good, but it’s all based more on the team’s success,” said Adair. “The more we win the more opportunities we have to play more games and score more points. I’m not looking at this as an accomplishment right now. I’ll look and see what it is at the end of the season.”
Adair finished the game hitting 7-of-9 field goal attempts, 5-of-6 free throws and pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. He also dished out five assists, sharing the team lead with Sumpter, and recorded one steal. Adair is currently shooting 67.9 percent from the field, well ahead of the existing VWC single-season record of 66.8 percent set by Jason Nickerson in the 1998-99 season.
Adair’s shooting effort was part of a 51.9 percent showing from the field for the Marlins, who recovered from a 40 percent first half effort to knock down a sizzling 62.1 percent in the second half. That second-half showing was highlighted by a 6-of-10 effort from three-point range, led by Dixon.
Dixon hit one triple in the first half for three points, but found his range consistently in the second half to finish with a career-best 5-of-7 night from three-point range en route to 16 points. Balenga and Tucker also hit two each for the Marlins and Tyler added one.
Despite the slow start in the first half, Virginia Wesleyan recovered to post several season-best efforts, including the 50-point production in the second half. The Marlins’ 51.9 percent shooting effort was the fifth in a row over .500, the 10 three-pointers was a season high and 19 free throws made tied the season high.
Five Marlins scored in double figures, led by Adair’s 19, Dixon’s 16 and Balenga’s 15. Tucker and rookie Stephen Fields both finished with 11 points. Fields continued his impressive first year with the Marlins, coming off the bench to provide Virginia Wesleyan with timely scores and alert play overall.
Termaine Totten and Bryant led Apprentice, each with 14 points. Bryant also led the effort on the backboards with eight rebounds. Warren Cherry recorded a game-high six assists.
Virginia Wesleyan takes a holiday break until Tuesday, Dec. 26, when the Marlins return to campus to begin preparing for the Cru Holiday Basketball Classic in Belton, Texas. VWC will take on host University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (4-2) on Friday, Dec. 29, at 8 p.m., and face Hardin-Simmons University (4-4) on Saturday, Dec. 30, at 1 p.m.
–VWC–