Balenga, who played his high school basketball not far from the CNU campus, hit 7-of-10 shots from the field for the Marlins (9-0), including 4-of-4 from three point range. He was part of a stellar long-distance shooting effort overall as VWC nailed 10-of-15 triples for 66.7% accuracy, the third best mark in program history.
It was a night when Virginia Wesleyan felt the basketball however, as the Marlins connected on 62.1% of their overall field goal attempts, the best showing for a VWC team since a 63.4% effort against Hampden-Sydney College on February 10, 1999. Balenga’s on-the-mark shooting was complemented by a 5-of-5 showing by rookie Tyler Fantin, a 6-of-7 showing by junior Thomas Sumpter, a 4-of-6 effort from junior Marques Fitch and a 7-of-11 production by sophomore Brandon Adair.
Adair finished with 17 points, Fitch added 14 and Sumpter and Fantin scored 12 each. Sophomore Rodney Young and senior Peter Warren both finished with eight points. Roderic Carey paced CNU (5-1) with 24 points, hitting 10-of-13 field goal attempts, and Dont’a Selden added 13 points.
Virginia Wesleyan broke open a close game in the closing 2:37 of the first half, igniting 12-2 run that catapulted the Marlins from a 35-32 lead into a 47-34 spread at the break. Warren tallied five points in the run, Fitch hit a crucial three and Sumpter scored a lay-up with two seconds on the clock.
A jumper by Balenga to start the second half put the Marlins up 49-34, before CNU turned up the intensity and ignited a comeback. Led by six points from Carey, the Captains whittled the VWC lead to 49-42, prompting Marlins head coach Dave Macedo to call a time out.
CNU stayed within eight points with 15:42 to play, but would never get any closer. The Marlins sparked again, outscoring CNU 17-3 in a span of four minutes to open up a 70-48 lead. Six Marlins scored in the surge, led by Fantin with four points and timely three-pointers from Balenga and Riley. VWC’s lead was never less than 19 points the rest of the way. The Marlins’ largest spread was at 91-62 following a Balenga layup with 2:54 remaining to be played.
Virginia Wesleyan enters a holiday break and returns for competition on January 3, 2005, playing at Methodist College at 3:00 p.m. CNU plays Sunday, December 19, at Frostburg State University, and hosts Muhlenberg College on Tuesday, December 21, before heading into a holiday break.