The Marlins picked the wrong afternoon to shoot as cold as the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, struggling through their second worst field goal display of the season in a 67-53 loss to Randolph-Macon before a crowd of 1,085 at the Jane P. Batten Student Center. While the Yellow Jackets hovered around the 50 percent mark from the field for the entire game and finished at 49 percent, the Marlins hit only 36.4 percent overall.
Compounding problems for VWC was a 28 percent showing from three-point range and a cold 46 percent from the free throw lines.
Randolph-Macon, which improved to 20-1 overall and to 14-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, capitalized on the Marlins’ shooting woes with timely baskets that provided the Jackets with breathing room from start-to-finish. Virginia Wesleyan, now 16-6 overall and 9-6 in the ODAC, made several runs at the Jackets in the second half, and trailed only 49-43 with 9:11 to play, but could not keep the offense consistent enough to do major damage.
While the game featured five of the ODAC’s top-12 scorers, it was a non-starter for R-MC who provided the Jackets with the offensive lift they needed to stay a pace ahead of the Marlins. Patrick Gill, a 6-foot sophomore guard who was averaging 7.1 points per game off the bench, came off the bench again to lead all scoring with 17 points. He hit 4-of-5 from three-point range in a 5-of-10 afternoon overall, nailing two crucial triples in the second half to stave off Virginia Wesleyan rallies.
Kurt Bergmann added 15 points for the Jackets, hitting 7-of-15 from the field, and Ryan Stein and Justin Wansley tallied 10 points each. Senior David Doino led scoring for Virginia Wesleyan with 12 points, while first-year Marlin Brandon Adair added 11 points.
RANDOLPH-MACON 33 34 -- 67 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 22 31 -- 53 Randolph-Macon (67) -- Wansley 3-6 4-5 10, Poropatich 0-3 2-4 2, Stein 3-6 4-4 10, Bergmann 7-15 1-4 15, Sutherland 2-2 0-0 4, Krovic 3-5 0-0 7, Gill 5-10 3-3 17, Silcox 1-2 0-0 2, Scott 0. Totals 24-14-67, FG 24x49 (49%, Bergmann 7x15), 3FG 5x13 (39%, Gill 4x5), FT 14x20 (70%, Stein 4x4), rebounds 34 (Wansley 7), assists 8 (Stein 4), blocks 1 (Bergmann), steals 3 (Porpatich 2), turnovers 10 (Scott, Poropatich, Bergmann 2). Virginia Wesleyan (53) -- Fitch 2-6 3-8 9, Adair 5-10 1-3 11, Blazer 3-12 2-2 9, Doino 5-12 0-0 12, Warren 2-9 0-0 5, Young 1-1 0-0 2, Foster 1-3 0-0 3, Martin 1-2 0-0 2, Gardiner, Sumpter 0. Totals 20-6-53, FG 20x55 (36%, Adair 5x10), 3FG 7x25 (28%, Fitch 2x4), FT 6x13 (46%, Blazer 2x2), rebounds 33 (Fitch 9), assists 9 (Blazer 4), blocks 2 (Adair, Warren), stelas 7 (Adair, Blazer 2), turnovers 9 (Doino, Gardiner, Foster 2). Attendance: 1085