There’s plenty of time for the Marlins to figure out what has spun them into back-to-back uncharacteristic performances, but head coach David Macedo is hoping to find some answers sooner than later.
The Old Dominion Athletic Conference opener played at the Jane P. Batten Student Center did not shed much light on the situation for the Marlins (2-3, 0-1), the preseason favorite to win the league title. In fact, it was dimmed a little more by the absence of sophomore starter TonTon Balenga, an outside shooting threat and VWC’s second-leading scorer, who was benched for the game by Macedo for missing classes.
Ironically, it was the lack of a long-distance game for the Marlins that ended up creating a big difference against the Tigers (4-0, 1-0), as Virginia Wesleyan hit only 2-of-13 triple attempts, while H-SC nailed a torrid 8-of-10. Virginia Wesleyan set a program record last year with 239 triples made, including a rookie record 70 by Balenga.
“About all I can say is they deserved it and we didn’t,” said Macedo. “They continually hit big shots when they needed them and we didn’t answer. Not having TonTon on the court hurt some, but we have alot more to work on.”
Hampden-Sydney was hampered by a season-high 18 turnovers, but overcame the errors with a stunning shooting performance. The Tigers netted nearly 64% of their shots in the first half and finished the game hitting almost 63%. Included in those figures was a torrid performance from three-point range, as H-SC hit on 8-of-10 attempts, led by Drew Prehmus’ 5-of-5 showing.
That long-range shooting and the ability to get some timely buckets inside lifted the Tigers throughout the game and stifled Virginia Wesleyan’s attempts to ignite rallies to wipe out the lead. The Marlins led only briefly at 13-12 on a layup by sophomore D’Juan Tucker (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) and at 15-14 on a jumper by junior Brandon Adair (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne), before a basket by Kevin Forrester gave the Tigers the lead for good at 16-15.
Virginia Wesleyan tied the game at 19-all on an Adair dunk, but H-SC came right back. A free throw by Matt Guill and jumper by Troy Kaase helped to open up a three-point lead for the Tigers, who outscored VWC 9-1 in the final 5:41 of the half to take a 36-27 lead at halftime.
A key three-pointer by Prehmus pushed Hampden-Sydney into a 39-29 lead in the opening minute of the second half, but momentum shifted toward Virginia Wesleyan over the next several minutes. Sophomore Tyler Fantin (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam) scored on a layup and dunk and junior Thomas Sumpter (Hampton, Va./Bethel) hit a pair of free throws, as Virginia Wesleyan pulled within a 39-35 count with 17:09 to play.
Hampden-Sydney stopped the rally at that point and rebuilt its lead to 46-37, only to see the Marlins spurt again. Freebies by Sumpter and Adair, followed by a layup by senior Marques Fitch (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam) cut the H-SC lead to 46-42 with 11:10 on the clock, but it was as close as the Marlins would get the rest of the game.
Matt Green came through with a rally-killing three-pointer with 10:56 to play and joined efforts with Kaase and Prehmus to score all of the Tigers’ points in a 19-10 scoring run over the next eight minutes that pushed H-SC into a 68-52 lead with 2:43 on the clock. Virginia Wesleyan hit on only 5-of-13 shots in that span, while the Tigers hit on 6-of-8 shots and 6-of-7 free throws.
Adair led all scoring with 21 points, hitting 10-of-18 field goal attempts. He was the only Marlin player in double-figure scoring. Prehmus and Kaase paced H-SC with 19 points each, while Green came through with 14.
Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Saturday, December 3, playing at Roanoke College at 3 p.m. The Marlins also play Sunday, December 4, at Washington and Lee University, at 4:30 p.m. H-SC opens its home season on Saturday, hosting the run-and-gun Wasps of Emory & Henry College at 2 p.m.
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