ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- No. 8 Virginia Wesleyan College ushered out the 2014 portion of its current men's basketball schedule with a 91-59 non-conference victory over North Carolina Wesleyan College in a New Year's Eve game Wednesday afternoon at the Bishops' Everett Gym.

The victory, fueled by VWC's 53.8% shooting effort in the second half, improved the Marlins' record to 9-1 to enter 2015.  It is Virginia Wesleyan's best turn into the new year record since an 11-0 showing during the 2010-11 campaign.  North Carolina Wesleyan, which played without leading scorer Eric Dortch-Jones (Washington, D.C./Spingarn) who was out with shin splints, dropped to 6-5.

Senior Greg Montgomery (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) recorded his sixth double-double of the season, leading the Marlins with game-high totals of 20 points and 12 rebounds. He hit 7-of-11 field goal attempts and 6-of-10 free throws en route to scoring in double figures for the 10th straight game.

North Carolina Wesleyan started off well behind the shooting efforts of 6-foot-7 junior forward Shannon Huff (Fayetteville, N.C./Terry Sanford) and junior guard D.J. Weaver (Newport News/D.H. Conley, N.C.), hitting a healthy 60% throughout the first half, but could never overtake the Marlins. Montgomery scored the first basket of the game on a layup and sophomore Tim Jones(Richmond/Henrico) followed with a triple after an NCWC turnover, as VWC jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never trailed.

The Marlins used an 8-2 run sparked by triples from senior Cam Owens(Centreville/Centreville) and junior Nick Doyle(Franklin/Southampton) to start to break away late in the first half.  Doyle scored eight of his season-high 13 points in the final 3:50 of the half to help send Virginia Wesleyan into a 40-33 lead at the break.

Senior Isaac Brown (Kinston, N.C./Bethel Christian) scored the first basket of the second half to pull the Bishops within five points, but that's as close as it would get for the remainder of the game. The Marlins answered with a 12-0 run that started with a dunk by sophomore Kaelin Poe(Hampton/Kecoughtan) and included triples by sophomore Khory Moore(Arlington/Wakefield School) and Owens as VWC extended its lead to 52-35 in the first four minutes of the second half.

Virginia Wesleyan head coach Dave Macedo used his bench liberally throughout the second half, and the Marlins kept things rolling consistently.  Rookie Corey White (Newport News/Heritage) gave VWC its largest lead of the game at 91-55 when he converted two free throws with 1:33 remaining to be played.

Overall, 18 Marlins played in the game and 12 scored.  In addition to Montgomery's 20 points, VWC also received 14 points from Owens, 13 from Doyle, and 12 from Jones. Jones turned in one of his best efforts of the season, connecting on 5-of-5 field goal attempts, including two from three-point range. He also recorded a team-high three assists and three steals.

Virginia Wesleyan helped itself by hitting 10-of-23 shots from three-point range, led by Owens and Doyle with three each.  NCWC attempted seven triples and hit one.  The Marlins also connected on 23-of-34 free throws, while the Bishops canned 18-of-29.

VWC opens the 2015 portion of its schedule on Saturday, Jan. 3, in Atlanta where the Marlins will face the 9-1 Eagles of Emory University in a non-conference game starting at 2 p.m.

--AMDG--