VIRGINIA BEACH -- Each time Roanoke College's Maroons put the pressure on in Saturday's men's basketball game, the host Virginia Wesleyan College Marlins found ways to turn it off.

Timely scoring lifted the No. 11-ranked Marlins and thwarted the efforts of the Maroons at the Jane P. Batten Student Center where Virginia Wesleyan posted an 84-66 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory.

Senior Brandon Mitchell (Albany, Ga./Westover) and sophomore Khory Moore (Arlington/Wakefield School) produced some big second-half scoring for the Marlins, but junior Nick Doyle (Franklin/Southampton) was the player who turned the Maroons red.

Doyle, in his first season at VWC after transferring from Division I Delaware State University, hit for an intercollegiate high 24 points, helped by a perfect second half of shooting.  The 6-foot-4 forward hit 3-of-3 shots, all from three-point range, and 4-of-4 free throws en route to 13 second-half points to help VWC ward off the Maroons (7-12, 2-8).

After a dunk by sophomore Kaelin Poe (Greensboro, N.C./Hampton Kecoughtan, Va.) put the Marlins (16-3, 8-2) into a 42-22 lead early in the second half, Roanoke followed the lead of Andrew Daniels (Fairfax/Oakton), Julian Ramirez (Palmyra/Fork Union), and Daniel Eacho (Richmond/Monacan) to keep VWC from running away.

But, once the Maroons whittled the spread to 43-31 with 16:16 remaining, Doyle knocked them back with a triple off an assist from senior Breven Lyons (Newport News/Warwick). VWC pushed back out to a 17-point lead minutes later, before Daniels nailed consecutive triples to help Roanoke move within 10 points at 56-46 with 9:08 on the clock.

VWC did not flinch however, and Doyle was there again for the Marlins, hitting another triple, giving the host team a 59-46 lead. Roanoke cut it back to 10 points seconds later, but could not get closer in the final seven minutes. Mitchell, Poe, and Lyons sparked a 9-2 VWC scoring surge to open up a 70-53 lead.

Sophomore Tim Jones (Richmond/Henrico), Doyle, and Moore all hit triples in the final 2:45 as VWC outscored Roanoke 12-6 to produce the final margin of victory.

Virginia Wesleyan created distance early with success from three-point range and hit 14-of-33 overall. VWC has won 86 of 102 games when it hits 10 or more triples in a game. Doyle led Saturday's long-range showing with a career-high six in eight attempts. Lyons followed with four and Moore added three.

Moore finished with 20 points overall, while Lyons tallied 14 and Mitchell chipped in with 10, hitting 5-of-8 field goal attempts. Montgomery and Jones tied for team-high honors with five assists each and Poe pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for the Marlins, but Roanoke won the battle of the boards, 42-37. 

Cameron Smith (Lexington, N.C./Northeast Guilford) recorded 11 caroms for the Maroons and also scored 11 points. Daniels finished as the Maroons' top scorer with 15 points, while Eacho tallied 12. The Maroons hit six triples overall, as Smith and Daniels connected for three each. Ramirez finished with nine points and a team-leading five assists.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Wednesday, Feb. 4, hosting Bridgewater College's Eagles in ODAC play beginning at 7 p.m.

--AMDG--