EMU (4-3, 1-2 ODAC) held the lead for the entire first half and went into the break with a 31-20 advantage. The Royals continued to add to the lead in the second half and held a 45-30 lead with 12:20 remaining in the second period.
Following a Fantin (Virginia Beach, Va.) lay-up, VWC (5-3, 3-1 ODAC) had four straight three-point possessions and five out of six to make a run and close the gap. Freshman Norman Hassell (Virginia Beach, Va.) converted back-to-back conventional three-point plays. Sophomore Ari’ Paschal (Virginia Beach, Va.) hit a three-point field goal and senior Marques Fitch (Virginia Beach, Va.) hit two threes and a lay-up to cut the lead to 53-49 with 8:13 remaining.
EMU held onto the lead until VWC tied the score at 62-62 with 3:16 remaining, marking the first tie since the opening tip-off. The Marlins took their first lead when Hassell connected on 1-of-2 free throws a few seconds later. Junior Jason Sager (Edinburg, Va.) hit a jumper with 2 minutes left to put the Royals back up 64-63.
The teams traded missed shots before Sager added a lay-up for a 66-63 lead with 22 seconds remaining. On the following possession, Fantin missed a three-pointer from long-range but was fouled by EMU center Jason Lentz (Diana, W.Va.). He calmly sank all three free throws and Sager’s attempt at the buzzer was no good to send the game into overtime.
With EMU leading 71-70 with 2:20 remaining in the extra session, sophomore Rodney Young (Norfolk, Va.) sank two free throws after senior E.J. Arrington (Staunton, Va.) committed his fifth foul of the game for the Royals. On the next EMU possession, Sager had his shot blocked by Fantin, grabbed the rebound, but lost possession on a jump-ball call to send it back to the Marlins. Young followed with a jumper to put the Marlins up 74-71.
Sophomore Brad Parkes (Winchester, Va.) then hit 1-of-2 attempts at the free throw line for the Royals and Young did the same to give the Marlins a 75-72 lead with 28 seconds remaining. After a missed three-pointer by EMU junior JoMorrae Gordon (Oakdale, Calif.), Fantin hit 1-of-2 free throw attempts for a four-point lead.
EMU sophomore Korey Whiting (Stafford, Va.) hit a quick three-pointer to pull the Royals within one at 76-75 with eight seconds remaining. Junior Thomas Sumpter (Hampton, Va.) hit both free throws to push it to a 78-75 lead for the Marlins with five seconds remaining, and Whiting’s running three-pointer at the buzzer clanged off the left side of the rim.
VWC shot 60.7% from the floor in the second half, including 5-of-8 on three-pointers, after shooting just 29.2% in the opening period. EMU shot 43.8% for the game, including 52% in the second half, and held a 41-35 rebounding edge, but the Royals went just 3-of-9 from the field in the extra session and didn’t make a three-pointer until Whiting’s basket with eight seconds remaining in overtime.
Freshman Terrell Dixon (Virginia Beach, Va.) had 20 points to lead the Marlins. Sumpter added 13 points, four boards, five assists, and three steals. Hassell finished with 12 points while Fantin chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds.
Sager finished the game with 20 points and 12 boards for his third double-double of the season. His first basket of the game gave him 1,000 career points. He is the fourth EMU player to reach the 1,000 point mark this season, joining Arrington and seniors Amanda Renalds (Bridgewater, Va.) and Stephanie Mathews (Woodstock, Va.) from the women’s team. Whiting had 16 points, eight boards, and three steals for the Royals. Parkes finished with 11 points while Lentz chipped in 10 and seven boards.
EMU hits the road for its next game, traveling to Ashland, Va. on Saturday to face Randolph-Macon College at 3 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Virginia Wesleyan vs Eastern Mennonite 12/07/05 7:00pm at Harrisonburg, Va. At Harrisonburg, Va. VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 78, EASTERN MENNONITE 75 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (5-3, 3-1 ODAC) PASCHAL, Ari' 7-13 2-3 20; SUMPTER, Thomas 5-8 3-4 13; HASSELL, Norman 4-7 4-6 12; FANTIN, Tyler 3-8 4-5 10; FITCH, Marques 3-8 1-2 9; YOUNG, Rodney 3-4 3-6 9; TUCKER, D'Juan 1-2 1-2 3; GREEN, Tory 1-1 0-0 2; TOWELL, Matt 0-4 0-0 0; BALENGA, TonTon 0-1 0-0 0; DIXON, Terrell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-56 18-28 78. EASTERN MENNONITE (4-3, 1-2 ODAC) SAGER, Jason 9-20 2-5 20; WHITING, Korey 7-15 1-2 16; PARKES, Brad 4-7 3-4 11; LENTZ, Jason 1-4 8-10 10; ARRINGTON, E.J. 3-6 0-0 6; GORDON, JoMorrae 3-7 0-0 6; DYER, Earl 1-1 2-2 4; BAILEY, Corey 0-0 2-2 2; GALYON, Dustin 0-0 0-0 0; PARRISH, LeRoger 0-3 0-0 0; LYONS, Jered 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 18-25 75. Virginia Wesleyan............. 20 46 12 - 78 Eastern Mennonite............. 31 35 9 - 75 3-point goals-Virginia Wesleyan 6-15 (PASCHAL, Ari' 4-8; FITCH, Marques 2-4; HASSELL, Norman 0-1; FANTIN, Tyler 0-1; YOUNG, Rodney 0-1), Eastern Mennonite 1-9 (WHITING, Korey 1-5; GORDON, JoMorrae 0-2; SAGER, Jason 0-2). Fouled out--Virginia Wesleyan-None, Eastern Mennonite-ARRINGTON, E.J.. Rebounds-Virginia Wesleyan 35 (FANTIN, Tyler 9), Eastern Mennonite 41 (SAGER, Jason 12). Assists-Virginia Wesleyan 11 (SUMPTER, Thomas 5), Eastern Mennonite 8 (SAGER, Jason 3). Total fouls-Virginia Wesleyan 19, Eastern Mennonite 24. A-382