Since 1990, the Marlins have been involved in 19 contests that have hit or topped the century total and they’ve won all 19 ... including Sunday’s 110-102 Old Dominion Athletic Conference battle at the Jane P. Batten Center. In fact, Virginia Wesleyan’s record in games of 100-or-more points in program history is nothing short of phenomenal, as Marlin teams have won 45 of 46.
Emory & Henry, which recently adopted the “Grinnell (College) System,” a trapping, run-and-gun attack that platoons five players in-and-out to keep pressure on and action moving, watched the Marlins adjust early and utilize depth and leadership off the bench to help post the win. VWC players off-the-bench contributed 50 points, highlighted by career-high totals of 17 and 10 points, respectively, from rookies Ryan Glover (Stuarts Draft, VA/Riverheads) and D’Juan Tucker (Dumfries, VA/Forest Park).
“They were two players who definitely stood out for us,” said VWC head coach Dave Macedo. “They came in and made the most of their minutes played. Ryan played with confidence down the stretch and made some shots that were key for us. And with Marques Fitch out with an injury, D’Juan’s play, particularly defensively, was huge. His floor leadership, along with that of Thomas Sumpter, was also key.”
Glover, who played in only 19 minutes total prior to Sunday’s game, hit 6-of-7 field goals against the Wasps, including 5-of-6 from three-point range, pulled down a pair of rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded a steal. And he did all that in 19 minutes on the court. Tucker hit 5-of-10 field goals, dished out a career-high eight assists and took in a team-high three steals, in 23 minutes. Sumpter (Hampton, VA/Bethel), who finished with 16 points, recorded a career-high nine assists.
But, it was Marlin rookie Ton Ton Balenga (Newport News, VA/Warwick) who came through to stave off the scrappy Wasps late in the second half. Balenga, who scored a career-high 25 points, hit two big free throws to break a tie at 83 and came through with a layup, off an assist from Tucker, to break a tie at 90. Emory & Henry turned the ball over following that layup and VWC capitalized with a Glover triple at the other end of the court. It was all part of an 11-0 run that gave the Marlins a 101-90 advantage with 2:32 remaining to be played.
Emory & Henry came back to cut the spread to seven points on a Hank Luton triple with 47 seconds to play, but Sumpter protected VWC’s lead in the waning seconds by hitting 4-of-6 free throws to give the Marlins a 110-99 edge with 15 seconds on the clock. Korey Townsend’s three-pointer with four seconds remaining pulled the Wasps within eight points.
It took the early minutes of the game for VWC to adjust to the pattern of play, but once that happened the Marlins and Wasps played an intense first half that featured six tie scores. Emory & Henry took a 43-42 lead on a free throw by Cortez Watson with 3:45 remaining in the half, but it was the last lead of the game for the Wasps. Virginia Wesleyan sparked a 16-3 run, capped by a triple from senior Peter Warren (Winchester, VA/Handley), to open up a 58-46 lead with 56 seconds in the half.
Warren and sophomore Brandon Adair (Virginia Beach, VA/Princess Anne) helped the Marlins dominate in close, as VWC outscored the Wasps 52-24 in the paint. Adair hit 8-of-10 shots inside en route to scoring 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Warren tied a career-high with 14 rebounds.
Emory & Henry relied on outside shooting to stay in the game however, as Lance Reasbeck, Luton and Townsend came up with key second-half scoring after Virginia Wesleyan opened up its largest lead at 70-54 with 15:42 remaining to be played. The trio accounted for 20 points in a 29-11 run for the Wasps that created the tie at 83 with 7:22 on the clock. The Wasps never led, but forced one more tie at 90, with 4:47 to play, before Balenga’s layup started the decisive 11-0 run for Virginia Wesleyan.
Townsend led Emory & Henry scoring with 27 points, followed by Reasbeck with 26 and Luton with 19. Reasbeck and Luton both hit 6-of-16 shots from three-point range, leading the Wasps who launched 51 attempts from behind-the arc. Virginia Wesleyan attempted 20 triples and netted 12, the third-highest total in program history.
Virginia Wesleyan hit 40 field goals overall and shot a solid 62.5% for the game, the best showing since a 63.4% effort against Hampden-Sydney College in 1999. Emory & Henry netted only 38% of its shots, connected on 34-of-89 attempts.
Competition continues for Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday, February 2, when the Marlins step out of conference action to take on the Builders of Newport News Apprentice School. Competition begins at 7:00 p.m. at Apprentice.