Virginia Wesleyan, now 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the league, turned a slim 18-14 lead into a 52-17 advantage, utilizing its speed and quickness at both ends of the court to run away from the Generals. Sophomore Rodney Young nailed a three-pointer with 10:23 remaining to be played in the first half to start the surge that saw the Marlins hit 10 consecutive field goal attempts before finally missing a shot.
The Marlins hit 13-of-16 field goal attempts in the run, sparked by three triples from Young and two from junior Marques Fitch. While Virginia Wesleyan was scoring, Washington and Lee was struggling, hitting 1-of-4 field goal attempts, 1-of-4 free throw attempts, and turning the ball over nine times.
Four consecutive free throws by Washington and Lee’s Chris Halkitis stopped the run, but Virginia Wesleyan still led 57-23 at halftime.
The Marlins, who have eight freshmen and four sophomores on a 16-man roster that includes only two seniors, Peter Warren and Bryan Wintermantel, did not see much of a let up in the second half. VWC head coach David Macedo utilized the skills of all 16 Marlin players, benching his starters for most of the second half. No Virginia Wesleyan player was on the court for more than 23 minutes in the game.
Fourteen Marlins scored, led by Fitch, who hit 6-of-9 field goal attempts en route to a game-high 15 poins. Young finished with 14 points, helped by a 3-of-4 showing from three-point range, sophomore Brandon Adair added 13 points, connecting on 5-of-10 field goal attempts, and rookie Ton Ton Balenga scored 10 points, hitting 4-of-5 fielders.
Virginia Wesleyan helped its cause by outrebounding the Generals 42-25. Sophomore Chris Taylor, rookie Tyler Fantin and Balenga led VWC with four rebounds each. Colton Braud led Washington and Lee with eight rebounds. Greg Bienemann led W&L scoring with 13 points, followed by Femi Kusimo with 11 and Mason Herman with 10. The Generals hit 46.9 percent of their field goal attempts, while Virginia Wesleyan hit 52.9 percent.
Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Wednesday, December 8, hosting the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University at 7:00 p.m. Washington and Lee plays the same night, hosting Guilford College.
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