WAYNE, N.J. -- Patience played out for the Virginia Wesleyan College men's basketball team halfway through the second half of an intense battle with John Carroll University in an opening round game of the NCAA Division III championship tournament.
The Blue Streaks from Cleveland, Ohio, took their second lead of the game on a layup by Jake Hollinger with 11:59 remaining to be played and stayed in front when Danny Wallack (Mentor/Mentor) nailed a triple to make it a 76-74 JCU lead with 10:13 on the clock.
But, a balanced Virginia Wesleyan squad took it all in stride and put together a decisive 13-2 scoring run that gave the No. 9 ranked Marlins an 87-78 lead with 5:30 remaining. It also turned momentum back to VWC, which outscored John Carroll 27-10 in the final 10:13 to post an impressive 101-86 victory at the William Paterson University Recreation Center on Friday.
Virginia Wesleyan (24-5) advances to Saturday's 7 p.m. second round game to face the winner of Friday's second contest between the State University of New York at Cobleskill against the host Pioneers of William Paterson. JCU ends its season with a 20-7 record.
VWC's big finish was sparked by the standout effort of sophomore guard Tim Jones (Richmond/Henrico), who scored 15 points in the final 10 minutes to hep the Marlins pull away for good. Jones tallied 17 points in the second half and 18 for the game.
Jones was one of six Marlins to post double figure points. Sophomore Khory Moore (Arlington/Wakefield) and senior Breven Lyons (Newport News/Warwick) also scored 18 points each, senior Cameron Owens (Centreville/Centreville) and sophomore Kaelin Poe (Greensboro, N.C./Hampton Kecoughtan, Va.) added 14 points each, and senior Greg Montgomery (Virginia Beach/Princess Anne) came through for 11 points.
Virginia Wesleyan enjoyed a productive night from long distance, knocking through 15 three-pointers, tying the third highest single-game total in program history. Lyons led the triple attack with a 6-of-9 showing, hitting 5-of-6 in the first half. Owens connected on 3-of-4, Moore hit two, and junior Nick Doyle (Franklin/Southampton) connected for one.
Those big shots helped create a torrid pace for scoring in the first half, as Virginia Wesleyan led most of the way. David Linane (Euclid, Ohio/Gates mills Gilmour Academy) hit a triple to give JCU its only lead of the half at 3-2, before VWC ignited on a 10-0, helped by back-to-back triples from Owens and Moore.
Scoring from David Hendrickson (Saline, Mich./Saline), Ryan Farragher (Poland, Ohio/Youngstown Cardinal Mooney), and Will Starks (Twinsburg, Ohio/Gates Mills Hawken) helped to keep JCU close, but VWC repeatedly found the answers to pad the lead. The Streaks pulled within a 46-44 score with 2:49 remaining in the half, only to see VWC finish with an 11-3 scoring spurt to take a 57-47 halftime lead. Lyons hit back-to-back triples in the run, Moore hit another, and Poe smashed through his second dunk of the half.
John Carroll regrouped at the break and outscored VWC 15-5 in the first four minutes of the second half to tie the game at 62-all. There were six ties and four lead changes after that, with the fourth and final change going to VWC on a Jones layup with 8:41 on the clock, giving the Marlins a 78-76 edge. JCU never regained the lead from that point on.
While VWC finished with a 15-of-31 shooting effort from three-point range, JCU also fared well, hitting 9-of-29 attempts. Tony Vuyancih (Euclid, Ohio/Lakewood St. Edward), Wallack, Hendrickson, and Starks all hit two each.
Farragher led JCU scoring overall with 14 points, followed by Starks and Hendrickson with 12 each. Linane finished with 11 points and Hollinger tallied 10. The Blue Streaks finished with a 48-45 edge in rebounding, but were hurt by turnovers. VWC's pressure helped to force 21 JCU mistakes. Virginia Wesleyan finished with 12 turnovers.
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