BUENA VISTA, Va. – Wesley College's 12th-ranked men's basketball team was impressive on both sides of the ball en route to their tenth-straight victory, an 84-65 victory at Southern Virginia on Saturday afternoon. The Wolverines are now 15-1 on the year while Knights now stand at 4-10.
Never trailing in the game, Wesley jumped out to a 6-0 lead on baskets by Wayne Lennon, Brandin Youngblood and David Langan. After a triple by SVU's Preston Eaton (17 points) cut the Wolverines advantage to 8-5 with 16:03 left in the half, the Navy & White embarked on a 14-0 run that lasted nearly five minutes, extending the lead to 22-5.
Southern Virginia responded with a pair of free throws after a timeout to cut the deficit to 15 points but that would be as close as it would get the remainder of the game. The Wolverines led 45-26 at the half and extended the lead to as many as 31 points early in the second half before clearing the bench.
Leading the way for Wesley's well-balanced scoring attack was Langan who finished with a double-double 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead all players. A senior from Sayreville, N.J., Langan made 9-of-11 shots from the field and also blocked a pair of shots, helping the Navy & White hold Southern Virginia to just 33.9% shooting.
Sophomore AJ Tilghman scored a career-high 19 points off the bench while Youngblood (13 points) and Lennon (11 points) both reached double figures. The Wolverines finished the day shooting 57.7% from the floor and made 8-of-14 shots (57.1%) from behind-the-arc.
Also a factor in Wesley's aggressive defense was keying in on Knights' Chris Baker, who came in averaging over 12 points per game. Baker was held scoreless on the day, missing all six of his shot attempts.
The Wolverines will look to match their longest-ever win streak on Wednesday, January 29 when they host CAC rival Marymount (Va.) at 8 pm. The Saints gave Wesley its only loss of the year, an 80-73 outcome in Arlington, Va., on December 4.