VWC head coach David Macedo used the first game back from Thanksgiving break to play 14 different Marlins (4-0). No VWC player was on the court for more than 26 total minutes.
That kind of balance was reflected in scoring too as 11 Marlins scored, led by sophomore Brandon Adair. He played 18 minutes and led all scoring with 16 points, hitting 5-of-8 shots from the field and 6-of-6 from the charity stripes. Balenga, who played 26 minutes, finished with 11 points, and sophomore Marcus Riley, who played 17 minutes, also finished with 11 points.
Salisbury (2-2) was led by Neal Tucker’s 11 points. He was the only Sea Gull player in double-figure scoring. Tucker provided the Gulls with their only lead of the game when he drilled a three-pointer to push SU into a 3-2 advantage in the first minute of the game.
Adair answered with a jumper for the Marlins however, and Virginia Wesleyan never surrendered the lead. Salisbury stayed close for the first nine minutes of competition, trailing only 14-13 behind the scoring of Joe Burke and Rico Stewart. A 12-0 VWC run in a span of five minutes gave the Marlins breathing room though and the Sea Gulls never got closer than 11 points the rest of the half.
Virginia Wesleyan opened up a 39-19 first-half lead on a jumper by Ari’ Paschal and the Marlins coasted to a 41-26 lead at the break. The Marlins dominated the second half, opening with the 19-4 run and led by no less than 25 points the remainder of the game.