Honore's Big Day Carries Marlins to Win over Wesley

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Sophomore Keijon Honore had a career day off the bench to lead Virginia Wesleyan College to a 100-67 non-conference victory over Wesley College on Saturday afternoon.

Honore fell one point shy of a career high, finishing with 17 points on 5-7 shooting from three-point range. He matched a career best with seven assists in the contest to lead the team.

The Marlins jumped out to an early 23-10 just eight minutes in behind impressive shooting from long range. Virginia Wesleyan shot 50% (9-18) from distance in the first half, compared to just 12.5% (1-8) for Wesley.

The Wolverines took their only lead of the game at 2-0 on a JW Lawson tip-in before the Marlins raced out to a 10-2 edge.

Kaelin Poe scored a jumper before Khory Moore connected on a traditional three-point play. Khalil Barnette then found Tim Jones for a three and the 8-2 gap. Honore hit Moore in the paint the next time up the court to finish off the early run.

Virginia Wesleyan connected on three-pointers on three straight possessions to go up 21-10 as Andre Banks knocked down a pair of trifectas off assists from Percy Burt and Honore. Then Honore got in on the action, scoring his own attempt from beyond the arc. He added a pair of free throws to put the Marlins up 23-10 with 11:56 to play.

VWC continued to pull away from the Wolverines, not letting the visitors get closer than eight points the rest of the way. That came when Brian Cameron's three-pointer made it 25-17 with 9:52 to play in the first.

The defensive pressure and hot shooting allowed Virginia Wesleyan to go on a 23-7 spurt over the next 7:22, ultimately taking a 52-28 lead into the locker room.

Evan Anderson scored the first five points of the second half for Wesley, cutting the deficit to 52-33, but the Marlins quickly went back up by 20. Virginia Wesleyan led by as many as 39 points in the final period.

The Marlin bench contributed 52 points, paced by Honore, compared to just 27 for Wesley. Virginia Wesleyan also took advantage in several key areas, scoring 44 points in the paint, 18 on fast breaks, and 18 by the second chance variety.

The Marlins shot 46.7% (14-30) from three-point range, and 50.7% (36-71) overall on Saturday while holding Wesley to 18.8% (3-16) shooting from three, and 36.2% (21-58) overall.

Virginia Wesleyan committed just nine turnovers, forcing the guests into 17 which resulted in 21 points.

Moore finished with a team-high 19 points for the Marlins. Banks finished with 11 points as Jones contributed 10 points and five assists. Devin Garrett joined Honore off the bench with a career-high 10 points and six rebounds.

Anderson paced Wesley (4-5) with 14 points while Cameron tallied 13 points and six boards.

Virginia Wesleyan (7-2) hosts the University of Mary Washington (5-3) Friday, December 30 at 6 p.m.