Wednesday, January 21, 2008
Contact: Chris Kilcoyne / Sports Information Director
804.335.4453 / christopherkilcoyne@rmc.edu
Virginia Wesleyan Holds Off R-MC Rally
to Snap Yellow Jacket Winning Streak with a 82-76 ODAC Victory
(Box
Score)
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - Virginia Wesleyan used a hot shooting
first-half and held off a furious R-MC rally as it snapped
Randolph-Macon's 11 game winning streak with a 82-76 win over the
Yellow Jackets Wednesday night in Virginia Beach.
The Marlins, who shot 53% from the floor,
including 4-of-6 from the three-point line in the first stanza, led
throughout the opening period and jumped out to a 25-14 lead when
Stephen Fields knocked down a three-point basket with 7:51 to go. A
Norman Hassell three point play with 2:48 made the score 37-19 then
a Hassell trifecta in the final seconds sent VWC to the locker room
with a 42-24 advantage at half-time.
The Yellow Jackets battled back in the early
stages of the second-half, cutting the Marlin advantage to 12,
before a Hassell three extended the VWC lead to19 at 57-38 with
just over 12 minutes to go in the game.
The Jackets again chipped away at
the Marlin advantage, pulling within 10 with 2:21 left in
the game when Boris Varela made the score 73-63 with a
three-pointer. After a VWC free-throw, Thomas Scheeler knocked down
a trifecta of his own to pull R-MC within eight with 1:26 to play.
After a defensive stop, Justin Short made the
score 74-68 with a pair of free-throws with just over a minute to
play. On VWC's ensuing possession, Hassell made one-of-two attempts
from the charity stripe and Short converted a layup with 54 seconds
left to make the score 75-70.
R-MC would close the gap to four, but Fields
would make several key free-throws down the stretch to seal
the game for the Marlins.
Randolph-Macon (12-4 / 6-1 ODAC) was led by Short with 25 points,
including 23 in the second-half. Jordan Brown and Danny
Jones each finished the game with 10 points.
Virginia Wesleyan (10-7 / 4-4 ODAC) was paced on the offensive end
by Quinton McDuffie who had 17 points and Fields who finished
with 19 tallies on the night.
Randolph-Macon returns to action on Saturday
when it hosts Randolph College at 4:30 p.m. in Ashland.
- Yellow Jackets -
