VIRGINIA BEACH -- Virginia Wesleyan College's 13th ranked men's basketball team was in a zone Tuesday night against high-scoring Apprentice School, but it had nothing to do with defense.
It was an impressive offensive zone that saw the Marlins connect on a program-record 17 triples en route to a 103-68 victory over the Builders at the Jane P. Batten Student Center. The long-range shooting effort topped the previous VWC record of 15 set against Guilford College in 2006.
Virginia Wesleyan (4-0) never trailed against the Builders (5-2), who entered the game averaging 98.5 points per outing. But, alert defensive play and rebounding helped the Marlins to keep Apprentice in check from start to finish.
Senior preseason All-American DJ Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown) and sophomore Sedric Nady (Virginia Beach/Landstown)sparked the long-range shooting display, nailing five each. Nady, who scored a career-high 20 points, hit on 5-of-7 attempts, and Woodmore, who led all scoring with a season-high 30 points, and the second highest total of his career, hit on 5-of-8 trey launches. Six Marlins overall hit at least one triple in VWC's 17-of-39 showing.
Apprentice managed to stay within eight points of the Marlins late in the first half after Darrell Fenton (New Kent/New Kent) hit a jumper to make it 29-21 with 7:49 remaining before halftime. But, that was as close as the Builders would get the remainder of the game. Virginia Wesleyan outscored Apprentice 25-13 in the closing minutes of the first half to post a 54-34 lead at halftime. VWC hit six triples in that final seven minutes, led by Nady with three, senior Aaron Clark (Chesapeake/Virginia Beach Tallwood)with two, and Woodmore with one.
The Marlins stayed hot from behind the arc to start the second half as well, as Woodmore hit two and junior Cameron Owens (Centreville/Centreville) added another, sparking VWC on a 13-0 run in the first two minutes. Senior Colby Heard (Virginia Beach/Tallwood) started it all with back-to-back buckets in the paint.
Six-foot-8 junior Jamal Curry (Charleston, S.C./Porter-Gand) hit a jumper for Apprentice to stop the run, but Woodmore answered with back-to-back baskets for VWC to push the Marlins into a 71-38 lead with 16:13 on the clock. Things never got any better for Apprentice as Virginia Wesleyan began to utilize its deep bench to build on the lead the rest of the way.
When the final buzzer sounded, 18 Marlins played for VWC and 11 scored. While Woodmore and Nady led the way Owens finished with 13 points, Heard added nine, and Clark scored eight. Rookie Khory Moore (Arlington/Wakefield), who made his season debut after missing the first three games due to illness, also hit for eight points.
Virginia Wesleyan helped its cause by crashing the boards for 56 rebounds, the fifth highest total in program history. Fourteen Marlins pulled in rebounds, led by senior Trent Batson (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) with nine. Rookie Kaelin Poe (Hampton/Kecoughtan), Woodmore, and Heard all pulled down five each. Apprentice finished with 41 boards, led by Curry with 11.
The Marlins' alert offensive game produced 25 assists, led by Woodmore and Nady with six each. VWC also recorded eight steals and four blocks, the latter led by Batson with three.
Curry finished as the leading scorer for Apprentice with 22 points. He hit 7-of-16 from the field and 8-of-12 from the free throw lines. Latrone Demiel (Suffolk/Nansemond River) added 13 points. Curry also recorded a game-high five blocks.
Virginia Wesleyan competes again on Saturday, Dec. 30, opening Old Dominion Athletic Conference competition on the road at Emory & Henry College at 2 p.m.
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