HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Tough back-to-back road games have produced back-to-back losses for No. 7 ranked Virginia Wesleyan College in men's basketball for the first time in the 2010-11 season.

The No. 7-ranked Marlins fell behind early Monday at Eastern Mennonite University where host Royals, ranked No. 14,  posted an 86-71Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory in a game rescheduled from an earlier postponement. VWC owns a 44-21 lead in wins in the series between the schools, but the Royals have ruled for five consecutive wins.

The difference in this one...a rapid fire start for the senior-laden Royals (19-4, 10-4), who hit 6-of-7 shots in the first four minutes, while Virginia Wesleyan (20-3, 11-3) missed on its first five attempts from the field.  It combined for an 11-0 start for EMU, which rode the momentum thereafter.  The Royals led 19-3 after six minutes and 25-6 after nine.

Sophomores Chris Astorga (Suffolk, Va./Virginia Beach Cape Henry) and Chris Teasley (Newport News, Va./Menchville), and rookie DJ Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown)carried VWC on a 16-7 run to cut into the gap, with a triple by Woodmore pulling the Marlins within a 32-22 score with 6:12 remaining in the half.

Another Woodmore triple made it a 40-30 game with 3:57 on the clock, but EMU used a 7-2 run to end the half and take a 47-32 lead into the break.

VWC scored first in the second half and cut the spread to 11 points, but Eastern Mennonite enjoyed a night everything was clicking for the Royals.  The teams both scored 39 points in the second half, as the host team stayed in front to the final buzzer.

Woodmore led Virginia Wesleyan with 18 points, hitting 6-of-12 field goals, including 3-of-4 from three-point range.  Junior Donald Vaughn (Woodbridge, Va./Dumfries Potomac) added 10 points before fouling out after playing 21 minutes. 

Todd Phillips (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) led EMU with 22 points and 11 rebounds.  Orio Pancione (Augusta, W.Va./Hampshire) and George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller) both scored 18 points. Eli Crawford (Staunton, Va./R.E. Lee) added 10. 

Neither team was effective from long range as VWC hit only 4-of-17 attempts, while EMU hit 4-of-13. VWC canned 21-of-33 free throws and EMU hit 22-of-41. The Royals finished with a slight 46-42 advantage on the boards.

A major difference was shooting accuracy.  While the Royals knocked down 50.8% for the game, VWC hit just 34.3%, including 31% in the first half when EMU hit 54.5%.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 16, when it hosts Lynchburg College in an ODAC contest beginning at 7 p.m. in the final regular season home game.  The Marlins close out the regular season on the road on Saturday, Feb. 19, at Emory & Henry College at 2 p.m.

--AMDG--