Marlins Escape Wasps with 89-87 Overtime Victory
EMORY, Va. -- The Virginia Wesleyan College men's basketball team traded the lead 11 times with Emory & Henry College in regulation Saturday before an overtime run led the Marlins to an 89-87 overtime win in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play.
The first half consisted of runs by both teams with the Wasps jumping out to an early lead before the Marlins answered with a run of their own to regain the lead. Emory & Henry charged back once again, taking a 41-34 lead into the half. Tim Jones had 14 points in the first half for Virginia Wesleyan, but it was not enough for an intermission edge as the Wasps managed to shoot 50% (15-for-30) from the field.
Virginia Wesleyan came out strong in the second half, cutting it to a one-point deficit almost immediately on a pair of Aaron Sturdifen layups and a pair of Khory Moore free throws.
Emory & Henry kept the lead, opening the gap back up to five points when Myles Turner made a pair of made free throws at 13:53 to extend the score to 54-49.
Moore knocked down a pair of three-pointers on the next two possessions to put the Marlins ahead 55-54 for the first time since midway through the first half.
Both teams remained close the remainder of the duration when Virginia Wesleyan expanded on a slim margin with seven minutes to play. The Marlins led 68-66 after John Shelor scored for Emory & Henry, but VWC picked up layups from Daevon Brown and Jones for a 72-66 lead, the largest of the second half.
Emory & Henry held the Marlins to a pair of empty possessions while Ryan Gravley scored six points to knot the game back at 72 with 4:14 in regulation. The Marlins took the lead twice more only to have the Wasps tie it up until the final minute when Chase Branscomb made a jumper off a Gravley pass for the 78-76 E&H lead with 32 seconds to play.
Brown answered with a layup from deep down low with nine seconds left to force the extra session.
Overtime opened with Brown racing up court to corral Poe's opening tip, throwing the ball down for the dunk. A missed layup at the other end resulted with the ball in Brown's hands again as he pulled down the defensive board. Jones took the outlet pass, came up the court, and found Moore on the left wing for a three-pointer and 83-78 lead just 35 seconds in.
Emory & Henry settled down, scoring four-straight points from Turner. An Aaron Ferguson layup garnered the Wasps the 84-83 lead with 1:03 to go.
Moore silenced the hosts yet again, as another trifecta from the left key, this one coming with 43 seconds left, ended the E&H run and put VWC back up two.
Turner knocked down a three late in the session, but the Marlins scored 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to ice the game.
Turner had 21 points and four assists for Emory & Henry (11-10/5-7 ODAC) while Branscomb had 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Ferguson contributed 16 points and nine boards.
Moore led the way for the Marlins with 31 points. That total is the most scored by a Marlin this season as Moore also had 31 points on two separate occasions earlier this year. He also pulled down nine rebounds as Jone contributed 22 points and seven rebounds. Brown picked up his first double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Virginia Wesleyan (15-6/10-2) hosts Hampden-Sydney College (14-7/6-6) on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. ODAC start.