VIRGINIA BEACH -- On the pretty scale, Virginia Wesleyan College's 67-57 victory over Emory & Henry College's Wasps on Saturday was somewhere between a blobfish and a warthog. (Box score)

Neither are easy on the eyes, nor was the Old Dominion Athletic Conference game at the Jane P. Batten Student Center where the No. 9 Marlins battled through a chilly offensive effort to turn back a feisty Emory & Henry squad. 

It was the nightmare VWC head coach David Macedo hoped to elude, as the Marlins, a few days off an intense victory at No. 7 Randolph-Macon College, came out flat against an Emory & Henry team that simply capitalized on the situation.

That was definitely evident in the early minutes of the second half when the Wasps (2-6, 0-3) followed the lead of Terrance Grigg (Charlotte, N.C./Hopewell), Bobby Stafford (Jonesville, Va./Lee) and Josh Cunningham (Vinton, Va./William Byrd) to wipe out a nine-point deficit and forge into a 36-33 lead.  E&H stayed in front for about five minutes, until DJ Woodmore sparked the Marlins and the home crowd.

Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown), a rookie, nailed a jumper to tie the game and returned VWC (8-0, 2-0) to the lead with another jumper with 11:14 on the clock for a 41-39 advantage.  The Marlins never trailed after that and pushed out to a 47-41 lead on timely scores by juniors Donald Vaughn (Woodbridge, Va./Dumfries Potomac) and Ed Roberts (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek). 

VWC's defense responded in the stretch as well, holding the Wasps to just four points in a five minutes span.  The Marlins outscored E&H 12-4 to build the lead and pull away for good.  A steal by Kyle Sensabaugh (Columbus, Ohio/Briggs) led to a Stafford jumper to cut the Marlins' lead to 50-46, but Virginia Wesleyan pushed out to a 61-51 lead minutes later, highlighted by a crowd-rousing dunk by Vaughn off an assist from sophomore Tre' Ford (Falls Church, Va./J.E.B. Stuart).

Emory & Henry did not get closer than nine points the rest of the way.

It was an aggressive game from buzzer-to-buzzer, one that produced a combined 51 fouls, 27 on the Wasps.  E&H connected on 20-of-30 free throws, led by Grigg with a 10-of-11 showing.  VWC hit on 22-of-37 attempts, led by Ford and Vaughn at 5-of-10 each.

Virginia Wesleyan held a 38-33 advantage in rebounding, led by Vaughn with 10, and the Marlins fared better from three-point range.  Woodmore nailed 3-of-6 triples in a 7-of-18 effort overall by the Marlins, while E&H attempted 11 and hit only three.

Woodmore led VWC scoring with 19 points, hitting 6-of-8 field goals, 3-of-6 triples, and 4-of-6 free throws.  He also had eight rebounds and three steals. 

Grigg led Emory & Henry with 25 points, hitting 7-of-14 from the field.

Virginia Wesleyan led 29-21 at halftime and posted its largest lead at 23-9 following a three-pointer by Jason Burns (Clinton, Md./Frederick Douglass) with 8:40 remaining to be played in the first half.

The Marlins return to competition on Monday, Dec. 6, hosting Newport News Apprentice School (5-3) at 7 p.m. in a non-conference contest.

--AMDG--