SALEM, Va. -- After Virginia Wesleyan College shot lights out in the first half of Friday's Old Dominion Athletic Conference quarterfinal game against Washington & Lee University, the big question was if the Marlins could stay hot in the second half.

The answer: yes.

Virginia Wesleyan hit a blistering 67.2% for the game to roll to a 98-78 win over the Generals, who hit 50% for the game.  VWC's field goal accuracy is the fourth best in program history and the highest percentage by a Marlin team since 2006 when VWC nailed 67.7% in a win over Emory & Henry College.

Despite the hot shooting, the Marlins (23-3) still found themselves in a tight game with the Generals (14-13) late into the first half.  A layup by John Rice pulled W&L within a 34-32 score, but 19 seconds later Chris Astorga (Suffolk, Va./Virginia Beach Cape Henry) nailed a triple to expand the lead for VWC.  It was the start of a 13-2 Marlin run that included an Astorga dunk and a big three-pointer by Andrew Cornwell (Dumfries, Va./Potomac), as VWC opened up a 47-34 lead.

Rookie DJ Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown) hit another trip with 27 seconds remaining in the half to give the Marlins a 50-37 lead at halftime.

Matters never improved for Washington & Lee as Virginia Wesleyan scored the first 11 points of the second half, led by Tre' Ford (Falls Church, Va./J.E.B. Stuart), Woodmore and Astorga, to expand the Marlin lead to 61-37.

Washington & Lee never got closer than 21 points the rest of the way.

Astorga, who nailed 10-of-14 field goal attempts, finished with a career-high 25 points.  Woodmore backed him with 21 points, connecting on 10-of-13 field goals, and junior Ed Roberts (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek) added 12 points onf 4-of-5 shooting, hitting 4-of-4 from three-point range.

Taylor Gilfillan (Raleigh, N.C./Enloe) led the Generals with 12 points, followed by Kevin Gill (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) with 10.

The victory was the 21st in a row for VWC in the series against Washington & Lee.

--AMDG--