While the intensity level subsided from "high" to "hmmm" the Marlins played well enough to take the lead early and never trail, despite a valiant effort by the Generals to keep things close. But, when the final buzzer sounded, Virginia Wesleyan recorded a program-record 13 th consecutive victory, breaking the former record of 12 set in the 2002-03 season. The current streak is believed to be the second longest in the nation, trailing only Cortland State University, which is on a 14-game run.
The victory also improved Virginia Wesleyan’s overall record to 15-3 and its ODAC-leading mark to 10-1. Washington and Lee dropped to 2-13 overall and 2-8 in the loop.
"We grinded it out and got the win," said VWC head coach David Macedo, "but thank God for our post players. Those guys are models of consistency. Now we have to start getting better play from our guards for the remainder of the season."
While sophomore TonTon Balenga (Newport News, Va./Warwick) was the only guard to produce significant numbers, hitting 7-of-11 shots en route to 15 points, post players Brandon Adair (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) and Tyler Fantin (Virginia Beach, Va./Floyd E. Kellam) combined efforts inside to carry the Marlins. They netted 43 points, pulled down 16 of the team’s 33 rebounds and produced four assists and four steals.
Adair emerged as the leading scoring with 23 points, hitting 10-of-15 field goals and 3-of-3 free throws, while Fantin hit 6-of-13 from the field, including a game-leading three triples. He also led the Marlins with nine rebounds and two blocks.
Ironically, it was a pair of three pointers early in the contest that help VWC jump out to a spread it rode the rest of the way. After Alex White hit a jumper to tie the game at 2-all, the Marlins ignited a 13-2 run to pull away. Balenga started it with a triple and sophomore D’Juan Tucker (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) capped it with a three ball.
But, a scrappy Washington and Lee did not let things get out of hand as Ben Heller, Ryan Owens and John Mumper keyed a 6-0 run that pulled the Generals right back into the thick of things. But, Fantin came back with the answer for Virginia Wesleyan, as he scored seven consecutive points, helped by a triple, to push the Marlins out to a 22-10 lead.
That back-and-forth pattern continued throughout the half, with Chris McHugh and Chris Halkitis hitting timely triples for Washington and Lee, which pulled within 25-20 score with 5:20 remaining in the first half. But, Virginia Wesleyan came up with the final run, outscoring the Generals 8-4 to post a 33-24 lead at halftime.
Virginia Wesleyan pushed its lead to 50-37 in the first seven minutes of the second half and then hit a cold spell. While the ball would not fall for the Marlins, the Generals took advantage of the situation with an 8-0 run that made it a 50-45 game with 9:22 remaining.
Balenga scored on a layup to end the cold spell for the Marlins, but Washington and Lee came right back with key scores from Isaiah Goodman and Halkitis to keep the margin at five points, 55-50, with 6:30 on the clock. That’s when intensity finally started to pick up for the Marlins, who limited the Generals to only six shots the rest of the way.
Washington and Lee hit on only one of those, while Virginia Wesleyan pulled away, hitting 5-of-9 shots in the final 6:03 to spark a 13-3 run for the final 68-53 score.
Goodman led all scoring for Washington and Lee with nine points. Halkitis and Greg Bienemann finished with eight points each. Bienemann also led all rebound with 10.
Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Sunday, January 22, hosting the Maroons of Roanoke College in another conference game at 4:30 p.m.
–VWC–