FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Senior Greg Montgomery scored in double figures for the fourth straight game to open the season, leading No. 12 ranked Virginia Wesleyan College to an 89-71 non-conference victory at Methodist University on Tuesday.

Montgomery (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) hit 53.8% from the field (7x13) en route to notching his second straight 20+ effort.  He was one of five Marlins to hit double figures in another balanced effort, as senior Cam Owens (Centreville/Centerville) added 17 points, sophomore Khory Moore (Arlington/Wakefield) scored 15, senior Brandon Mitchell (Albany, Ga./Westover) added 11, and senior Breven Lyons (Newport News/Warwick) scored 10.

Virginia Wesleyan (4-0) never trailed as Owens scored on a layup to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead. The Monarchs (2-3) stayed within four points through the first eight minutes, before the Marlins started to pull away.  Junior Nick Doyle (Franklin/Southampton) hit a triple to open up a seven-point lead for VWC, which stretched it to 36-18 with 6:59 remaining in the half after Owens hits a triple.

VWC continued to add to its lead behind the balanced scoring and owned a 45-23 advantage with 2:04 on the clock. The Marlins led 45-27 at halftime.

Methodist cut the spread to 15 points early in the second half, only to see Virginia Wesleyan push out to a 68-45 lead with 9:18 remaining to be played in the game.

T.J. Gill led Methodist with 21 points, followed by Mike Major with 16.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Wednesday, Dec. 3, hosting No. 13 Randolph-College at 8 p.m. at the Jane P. Batten Student Center.

--AMDG--