Marlins win ODAC battle

More news about: Virginia Wesleyan | Wesley
Feb 09, 2011

No. 6 Virginia Wesleyan held off No. 11 Randolph-Macon 53-50 in a battle between the top two teams in the most recent South region rankings.

Randolph-Macon and Virginia Wesleyan traded leads throughout the second half of their conference showdown. Brandon Braxton hit a jumper with 3:35 left to give the Yellow Jackets a 48-47 lead but Chris Teasley responded by getting to the foul line and making both shots for Virginia Wesleyan. After Rakeem Davis extended the Marlins' lead to 51-48, the defenses took over. Neither made a field goal for the final 2:29. Calvin Croskey hit two free throws with seven seconds left to draw Randolph-Macon within one. After the Yellow Jackets called a time out they didn't have, DJ Woodmore hit two technical free throws to complete the scoring. Full story.

With the win, Virginia Wesleyan improved to 20-1, 11-1 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. The Marlins also swept the regular season series with Randolph-Macon. The third ranked team in the NCAA's new South region rankings was also in action on Wednesday night. No. 19 Ferrum lost at home to Hampden-Sydney 87-83 despite a double-double by Derek Mitchell (26 points, 14 rebounds).

Franklin and Marshall coach Glenn Robinson hit two milestones in the same night. He coached his 1,100th game and picked up his 800th win, the first Division III coach to achieve that milestone. The Diplomats made it happen by beating Gettysburg 68-46.

Two other Top 25 teams lost in puzzling fashion. No. 17 St. Norbert lost to Beloit for the second time this season, this time falling 57-52 at home. No. 15 St. Mary's (Md.) lost at Salisbury 61-58 after scoring one point in the game's final 3:30. Chris McGrew scored 19 to lead the Sea Gulls.

Wesley took advantage of the Seahawks' loss, though it was by the narrowest of margins. The Wolverines beat Marymount 64-63 on Darrell Johnson's buzzer beater. In the previous possesion, Marymount's John Magnari hit a shot with 1.3 seconds left to give the Saints a 63-62 lead. Wesley takes over first place in the CAC with a Saturday road game at St. Mary's (Md.).

No. 5 Augustana took another step toward winning another CCIW regular season title by beating Wheaton (Ill.) 80-77. The Vikings have a two game lead on North Central (Ill.) with three games left. The last two games are on the road at North Central and No. 23 Illinois Wesleyan, both of whom won on Wednesday. The win was the 300th collegiate win for coach Grey Giovanine. 

The Hope Flying Dutch are flying below the radar but perhaps not for long. They defeated Olivet 65-60 for their 14th win in 15 tries. Hope also clinches the regular season title in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and home court advantage in the playoffs. New Jersey City is also on a roll, having won for the 11th tie in 13 games, winning 63-47 at William Paterson.

On Jan. 19, Widener went to Alvernia with first place in the MAC Commonwealth on the line. The Pride lost that night 80-63 and had not won a game until tonight when Widener beat visiting Alvernia 69-50. The Pride are two games out of the final playoff spot with three to play. Lycoming jumped out to a 21-2 lead and cruised to a 93-77 win over the Middle Atlantic Region’s fourth-ranked Elizabethtown. The Warriors, at 4-7, are still three games back of the second slot with three left, needing to win their final three games against league-leading Alvernia and against Messiah and Widener, tied for fifth in the standings with a 5-6 league record.