SALEM
— Sophomore guard Ton Ton Balenga sparked a second-half rally
and hit the game-winning shot as Virginia Wesleyan edged Wittenberg
59-56 Saturday.
Balenga hit a layup, stole the ball and then canned a short jump
shot with 1:54 left to tie the game 52-52. Wesleyan grabbed its
first lead when Brandon Adair got a layup with 1:20 to push the
Marlins (30-3) ahead 54-52.
Adair also tied the game 56-56 when he hit a pair of free throws
with 49.3 seconds left. After Wittenberg’s Daniel Russ was
called for traveling, Balenga sent a 3-point shot whistling through
with 2.1 seconds left for the game-winning shot.
It was the first NCAA team championship by an Old Dominion Athletic
Conference school of any sort and kept Wittenberg from snaring the
second Division III basketball title in the school’s history.
The Tigers claimed the 1977 crown.
Balenga and Adair combined for most of the Marlins’ points.
Balenga hit a game high 22 followed by his teammate’s
21-point effort.
Wittenberg (30-4) was paced by Dane Borchers with 15 points. The
Tigers, who led by 10 points at the half, hit 21-of-44 shots from
the field and held a 29-26 edge on the boards as Russ collected
nine rebounds.
Wesleyan is one of the younger teams to win the NCAA Division III
title. The Marlins had only one senior starter. The Tigers had four
senior starters.