ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- Virginia Wesleyan College sophomore D.J. Woodmore scored a career-high 26 points in Sunday's men's basketball competition at North Carolina Wesleyan College where the visiting Marlins posted an impressive 99-76 non-conference victory in a battle between preseason title favorites.
No. 5 ranked Virginia Wesleyan (5-1), the preseason favorite in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, trailed just once against NCWC (5-3), tagged as the favorite to win its second consecutive USA South Athletic Conference crown. A traditional three-point play by Matt Dougherty (Ayden, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) put the Bishops in front at 23-22, but only briefly as the Marlins took the lead for good on the next possession when Chris Astorga (Suffolk, Va./Virginia Beach Cape Henry Collegiate) ripped through a three-pointer.
North Carolina Wesleyan, which entered the game with victories over ODAC members Guilford College and Hampden-Sydney College, pulled within a 32-30 score following a dunk by Domarius Thomas (Raleigh, N.C./Southeast Raleigh) with 3:03 remaining in the first half. But, Virginia Wesleyan sparked an 8-1 scoring surge, including a key jumper by rookie Greg Montgomery (Norfolk, Va./Virginia Beach Princess Anne), to close the half with a 40-31 lead.
Justin Griffith (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mt. Tabor) and Thomas led the Bishops in the early minutes of the second half to keep the host team within five points, but it never got any closer. A Woodmore dunk was followed by an Astorga triple, giving Virginia Wesleyan control the rest of the way. Thomas scored to pull the Bishops within six, only to see VWC come back with a 17-6 scoring run that put the Marlins in front 64-47 with 11:50 remaining to be played. Woodmore dominated in that run, hitting a trio of triples en route to scoring 11 points.
Cornelius Snow (Fayetteville, N.C./Jack Britt) nailed a triple to cut the Marlins' lead to 13, but North Carolina Wesleyan could not get any closer. VWC extended its lead to 26 points several times in the final minutes.
Woodmore, who scored three seconds into the game on a layup, connected on 10-of-17 field goal attempts and hit a career high 6-of-9 three-point attempts en route to his 26 points. Astorga added another 19 points, hitting 8-of-14 from the field, and senior Donald Vaughn (Woodbridge, Va./Dumfries Potomac) scored 11 points, hitting 4-of-6.
It was all part of an strong shooting afternoon for th Marlins, who connected on 52.9% of their attempts. NCWC hit 47.4% from the field. The big difference was in long-range shooting as Virginia Wesleyan nailed 10-of-24 attempts. NCWC put up 10 triples and hit only three.
Virginia Wesleyan out-rebounded the Bishops 40-30, led by Astorga with eight and Woodmore with seven. Devin Nichols (Fayetteville, N.C./South View) and Thomas led NCWC with five each.
Junior Tre' Ford (Falls Church, Va./J.E.B. Stuart) contributed to the VWC win with five assists and Montgomery produced four.
Josh Morrison (Chapel Hill, N.C./Chapel Hill), Thomas, and Nichols all scored 11 points each to pace North Carolina Wesleyan.
Virginia Weselyan competes again on Tuesday, Dec. 6, when the Marlins host North Carolina's Methodist University in a non-conference game starting at 8 p.m. It is part of a VWC-Methodist doubleheader, which begins with the women's teams from those schools squaring off at 6 p.m.
--AMDG--