VIRGINIA BEACH -- Virginia Wesleyan College's 77-49 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory over Washington & Lee University on Sunday ended the same way it started.
With the Marlin seniors on the court.
It was Senior Day at the Jane P. Batten Student Center, where an appreciative crowd honored VWC's six seniors. Ed Roberts (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek), sidelined all season by an injury, received a rousing reception from the crowd before the game, while Ali Brown (Hampton, Va./Kecoughtan), Jason Burns (Clinton, Md./Frederick Douglas), Art Crew (Williamsburg, Va./Lafayette), Rakeem Davis (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek) and Donald Vaughn (Woodbridge, Va./Dumfries Potomac) received their cheers while helping the Marlins to the decisive win.
While it was Senior Day, it was also a day for junior Chris Astorga (Suffolk, Va./Virginia Beach Cape Henry Collegiate) to join an elite club of scorers at VWC. With his last basket of the game against W&L, Astorga became the 23rd member of the Marlins' 1,000 Point Club. He is the second to enter the group this season, as Vaughn did it earlier. It is the first time in the history of the VWC program for two players to break the 1,000 point plateau in the same season.
Astorga, a junior, led all scoring with 23 points in a win that solidified Virginia Wesleyan's fifth first place finish in the league standings in the past eight years and, more importantly, made the Marlins' No. 1 seeding in the upcoming ODAC title tournament official. The Marlins receive the first-round bye and play on Friday, Feb. 24, in the quarterfinals, against the winner of a first-round game between Washington & Lee and Emory & Henry College. That game will be played Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Emory, at 7 p.m.
Virginia Wesleyan (22-3, 14-2), ranked No. 7 nationally and No. 2 in the South Region, earned its first-place finish with a stunning finish against Washington & Lee (12-13, 5-11). The Generals trailed 36-21 at halftime, but played an inspired game in the first 10 minutes of the second half to pull within a 52-45 score with 10:06 remaining in the game. Larry Whitaker (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) and Javon McDonald (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) sparked the surge with seven points each.
But, once junior Chris Teasley (Newport News, Va./Menchville) hit a triple to stop the Generals' run, momentum returned to the Marlins ... big time. Virginia Wesleyan dominated the second half of the second half, out-scoring Washington & Lee 25-4 to pull away. Astorga followed Teasley's three with another triple, and sophomoreD.J. Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown) kept the crowd roaring when he slammed down a dunk off an assist from Vaughn.
That all took place in a two-minute span that ignited the big final run for the Marlins, who showcased balanced scoring during the break-away. Seven VWC players scored, led by Teasley with seven points, Astorga with five, and Davis with four, including a scoring ending dunk.
Washington & Lee led 2-0 to start after J.D. Ey (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) hit an opening jumper, but a 17-2 Virginia Wesleyan run followed to give the Marlins a lead they never lost. Astorga sparked VWC early, hitting back-to-back triples and 10 points overall in the run.
Scoring by Whitaker and Ey helped cut the spread to 19-10 at 9:13 before halftime, but the Generals could not stop VWC's answer. The Marlins outscored W&L 13-4 in the next five minutes to open up a 34-14 advantage. Vaughn, Astorga, and Teasley all had four points in the run and junior Tre' Ford (Falls Church, Va./J.E.B. Stuart) knocked down a triple.
VWC led 36-21 at halftime, withstood Washington & Lee's early second half surge, and closed with the decisive run.
While Virginia Wesleyan hit 50% from the field overall, the Marlins also helped their cause with a perfect day at the free throw lines, hitting 17-of-17 attempts. Vaughn led the way at 6-of-6. The Marlins also recorded 15 assists, led by Ford with six. Crew finished with four steals.
Astorga led all scoring, hitting 23 points, marking his seventh 20+ game of the season. He hit 8-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. Woodmore added 13 points, and had a game-high four blocks, and Vaughn scored 12 points and shared the VWC rebounding lead with Woodmore, both with seven. Teasle finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
Washington & Lee, which hit only 32.2% for the game, was led by Whitaker with 13 points. McDonald and Ey added nine points each. Ey also led the Generals with eight rebounds. VWC won the rebounding battle overall however, 41-29.
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