Nothing pretty, just one of those battle-to-the-buzzer contests that tends to spice most conference post-season tournaments annually. That definitely was the case for Virginia Wesleyan College’s top-seeded Marlins who posted a 75-72 victory over No. 8 seed Eastern Mennonite University in Saturday’s quarterfinal game in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship tourney in Salem’s Civic Center.
A stepped-up effort by EMU’s Royals, who were sparked by the return of scoring ace and rebounding leader Jason Sager, kept the contest close throughout, but Virginia Wesleyan was able to stay a step or two ahead most of the time.
Virginia Wesleyan, ranked No. 12 nationally (D3hoops.com), improves to 23-3 with the victory and extends the nation’s second longest Division III men’s winning streak to 21 consecutive games. The Marlins advance to the semifinal round on Sunday, February 19, at 2 p.m. to face the winner of Saturday’s Emory & Henry College vs. Guilford College contest.
The victory was VWC’s third straight over EMU this season, coming only four days after the Marlins pounded the Royals 84-51 in Virginia Beach. The Royals played that game without Sager, however, who returned to be a key force for EMU in the third time around, scoring 16 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.
But, it wasn’t enough for the team from Harrisonburg, Va., as Virginia Wesleyan led throughout the second half, playing just well enough to keep Eastern Mennonite at bay. The Royals challenged consistently to the end, pulling within two points on a pair of Brad Parkes free throws with 8:58 on the clock and again on an E.J. Arrington layup that cut the VWC lead to 68-66 with 2:19 remaining.
Virginia Wesleyan never rattled though, coming through with key scores repeatedly to diffuse EMU’s bids to pull even or push in front. Junior Thomas Sumpter (Hampton, Va./Bethel) hit four timely free throws in the final 1:48 of the game and junior Brandon Adair (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) added three more as the Marlins pushed their lead to 75-69 with nine seconds remaining to be played.
It was still far from over however, as LeRoger Parrish banked in a long-range three-pointer to cut the gap to three points for the Royals with six seconds showing. A quick EMU foul to stop the clock and get the ball back put Virginia Wesleyan on the line for free throws with five seconds showing. Two free throws made would have iced the game for the Marlins, but when Marques Fitch (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam) missed both shots, the Royals had one more chance to tie the game after Jason Lentz pulled down the rebound.
It all ended there however, as Lentz’ attempt to throw the ball long ended up going to nobody, turning the ball back over to the Marlins, who ran out the final seconds.
Virginia Wesleyan led most of the game, trailing only once. That was in the first half when Korey Whiting hit for three points on a layup and free throw to give the Royals a 16-15 lead with 10:22 remaining. But, Adair scored off a pass from Sumpter seconds later to return the lead to the Marlins for the rest of the game.
Adair’s score started a 14-3 run for the Marlins, who opened up their largest lead of the contest at 29-19 with 6:04 remaining in the half. Six Marlins scored in the run, led by sophomore D’Juan Tucker (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) with five points.
Virginia Wesleyan led 39-34 at halftime and hit its largest lead of the second half at eight points when sophomore TonTon Balenga (Newport News, Va./Warwick) opened scoring with a triple to give the Marlins a 42-34 advantage. It was enough of a cushion to help carry the Marlins to the end against an EMU team that refused to go away.
Adair, the ODAC Player of the Year, led all scoring with 23 points. He also had five rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Sumpter hit 7-of-10 free throws en route to scoring 13 points and Fitch hit 4-of-8 field goals and added 10 points. Fitch is now six points shy of hitting the 1,000-point plateau.
Parkes led EMU with 19 points, helped by a 7-of-9 effort from the free throw lines. Sager added 16 points and Whiting finished with 14.
–VWC–