FROSTBURG, Md. -- Senior Trent Batson came off the bench Saturday to provide an impressive effort inside for No. 25 Virginia Wesleyan College, helping the Marlins to an 88-74 non-conference victory over the host Bobcats of Frostburg State University.
Batson (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) netted 13 points, all in the second half, highighted by back-to-back dunks. He also pulled down nine rebounds and blocked four shots in a total of 23 minutes on the court, as Virginia Wesleyan improved to 3-0 overall, while FSU dropped to 0-4.
Balanced scoring was key to the win as Batson was one of four Marlins to finish in double-figure scoring. Senior DJ Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown) led the effort with 24 points, senior Aaron Clark (Chesapeake/Virginia Beach Tallwood) emerged with 12 points, and junior Greg Montgomery (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) added 10 points. Sophomore Brandon Mitchell (Albany, Ga./Westover) was next with nine points.
It was a Mitchell triple that gave Virginia Wesleyan the lead for good late in the first half. Woodmore nailed a three-pointer earlier to give the Marlins a 20-18 lead, but FSU tied the game at 22 all on a layup by James Peters (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills). Mitchell followed with his three with 7:35 on the clock, putting Frostburg in catch-up mode the rest of the way. Virginia Wesleyan led 36-31 at halftime after the 'Cats closed the spread on a triple by Nick Smoot (Baltimore/Milford Mill).
Early second-half scoring by Jabari Kamau (Baltimore/Academy for College and Career Exploration) and Aaron Bellamy (Elkridge, Md./Howard) enabled Frostburg to stay within four points of the Marlins, but not for long. Virginia Wesleyan produced a 7-0 run, led by Batson with four points, to open up a 57-45 lead with10:48 remaining to be played.
A pair of James free throws stopped the run only briefly, as the Marlins tacked on five unanswered points to push their lead to 66-49 with 8:03 on the clock. Clark nailed a timely triple in the five-point surge to build the big lead.
Frostburg closed the gap to 12 points with 4:39 on the clock, but Virginia Wesleyan pushed back out to a 17-point lead on consecutive baskets by rooke Kaelin Poe (Hampton/Kecoughtan)and Woodmore, and a Batson dunk. Frostburg never got closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
VWC hit 45.6% from the field overall, while FSU shot 39.1%. Both teams fared well from the free throw lines where the Marlins connected on 20-of-30 attempts, led by Mitchell's 4-of-4 showing, while the Bobcats hit 21-of-27. Bellamy nailed 7-of-9 free throws for the 'Cats.
Virginia Wesleyan dominated on the backboards, 50-35, led by Woodmore's game-high 10 rebounds. Batson pulled down nine for the Marlins and senior Colby Heard (Virginia Beach/Tallwood) added six. Kamau led Frostburg with seven. Kamau also led FSU in scoring with 19 points, followed by Bellamy with 16, and Smoot with 11.
Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Tuesday, Nov. 26, hosting Newport News Apprentice School at 8 p.m. It will be part of a doubleheader for VWC as the Marlin women will host Old Dominion Athletic Conference foe Lynchburg College in the early game at 6 p.m.
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