Balenga made four three-pointers and scored 16 points in the opening period, which helped the Marlins to a 35-29 halftime lead. His fifth and final three-pointer early in the second half gave the Marlins a 10-point lead with 17:36 to play. Virginia Wesleyan never trailed in the final period, but never led by more than 10 points. Guilford rallied to within one point three times down the stretch, but twice missed potentially game-tying free throws.
The Quakers' Ben Strong (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill), who scored a game-high 30 points, made one-of-two free throws with 4:45 left and pulled Guilford to within one point for the last time, 56-55. Virginia Wesleyan reserve forward Norman Hassell (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam) scored the Marlins' next seven points during a 10-4 run that restored the guests' lead to six with 1:56 remaining. Virginia Wesleyan preserved their seventh straight win over Guilford by making six-of-eight free throws in the final minute.
Hassell's seven big points were among his nine second-half points and 12 for the game, nearly 10 above his season average. Defending NCAA Division III Player of the Year Brandon Adair (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) scored 13 points and added a team-high nine rebounds. He had five of Virginia Wesleyan's 18 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 20 second-chance points. The Marlins have won 28 of their last 29 regular-season ODAC games. They had a 27-game league win streak end Saturday (1/27) with a 124-101 loss at Emory & Henry.
Strong added a game-high 14 rebounds to his game-high 30 points for his 11th double-double of the season. Rookie Justin Strickland (Thomasville, N.C./East Davidson) made all six of his shots for 10 points off the bench. Guilford's Jordan Snipes (Siler City, N.C./Jordan-Matthews), who entered the weekend as the ODAC's third-ranked scorer, scored eight points on three-of-15 field-goal shooting, just under 11 points shy of his season average.
The contest ended Guilford's four-game home stand and marked their first home setback of the season in eight games. The Quakers return to ODAC action Wednesday night (1/31) at Washington and Lee. The Marlins seek their 10th win in 11 games when they host league-rival Bridgewater Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
Virginia Wesleyan vs Guilford 01/28/07 3:00 p.m. at Greensboro, NC - Ragan-Brown Field House At Greensboro, NC - Ragan-Brown Field House VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 72, GUILFORD 69 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (16-3, 11-1 ODAC) BALENGA, TonTon 7-16 6-8 25; ADAIR, Brandon 6-9 1-2 13; HASSELL, Norman 4-9 2-2 12; TUCKER, D'Juan 2-5 3-4 9; DIXON, Terrell 2-7 0-0 5; SUMPTER, Thomas 2-4 0-0 4; YOUNG, Rodney 1-1 1-1 3; FIELDS, Stephen 0-4 1-2 1; FANTIN, Tyler 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 24-60 14-19 72. GUILFORD (14-3, 8-3 ODAC) STRONG, Ben 12-17 6-8 30; STRICKLAND, Justin 4-4 2-2 10; SNIPES, Jordan 3-15 2-3 8; BURGE, Thomas 3-4 0-0 7; BELKOSKI, Eric 3-6 0-1 6; KIMBROUGH, Caleb 1-2 2-3 4; HENSON, Clay 1-2 0-0 2; SANBORN, Tyler 1-1 0-0 2; NEVILLE, George 0-0 0-0 0; EDMOND, Ray 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-52 12-17 69. Virginia Wesleyan............. 35 37 - 72 Guilford...................... 29 40 - 69 3-point goals--Virginia Wesleyan 10-27 (BALENGA, TonTon 5-9; TUCKER, D'Juan 2-5; HASSELL, Norman 2-5; DIXON, Terrell 1-4; FIELDS, Stephen 0-1; FANTIN, Tyler 0-3), Guilford 1-9 (BURGE, Thomas 1-2; SNIPES, Jordan 0-5; KIMBROUGH, Caleb 0-1; HENSON, Clay 0-1). Fouled out--Virginia Wesleyan-None, Guilford-None. Rebounds--Virginia Wesleyan 34 (ADAIR, Brandon 9), Guilford 35 (STRONG, Ben 14). Assists--Virginia Wesleyan 13 (TUCKER, D'Juan 4), Guilford 9 (BURGE, Thomas 3). Total fouls--Virginia Wesleyan 19, Guilford 19. Technical fouls--Virginia Wesleyan-None, Guilford-None. A-850 Old Dominion Athletic Conference game. Guilford is ranked 25th in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll. Va. Wesleyan is ranked 4th in the same poll.