VIRGINIA BEACH -- DJ Woodmore is a rookie who plays like a seasoned veteran.

His basketball mind guides him to do whatever is necessary to help Virginia Wesleyan College men's basketball team to win games.

On Wednesday, before another near-packed gym in the Jane P. Batten Student Center, Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown) confidently knocked down two pressure packed free throws with one second on the clock to give the Marlins a 53-50 lead over Randolph-Macon College in a showdown between the top two teams in the NCAA South Region.

Woodmore was at the line, with the crowd on its feet, after a intentional technical foul for calling a timeout without one available, was taken by R-MC head coach Nathan Davis.  His attempt was to put the ball in a better position for a final Yellow Jacket shot.

Woodmore's pair of makes at the line made it a shot for a tie for the Jackets, who nearly saw the strategy work.  But, a mid-court heave by Adam Desgain (Richmond, Va./J.R. Tucker) hit the rim and bounced away.  The 53-50 score was final and Virginia Wesleyan marked its second victory of the season over the Jackets.

The win, VWC's 13th in the last 15 games with Macon,  not only improved the No. 6-ranked Marlins to 11-1 in the ODAC, but it also improved the overall record to 20-1 ... Virginia Wesleyan's ninth 20+ win season overall and eight in the past nine seasons.  It also marked VWC's 300th home court victory in program history, helped by an 11-0 slate this season.

Impressive numbers, but far from easy to produce.  The 11th-ranked Yellow Jackets enjoyed the lead for a good portion of the game, posting a 24-20 advantage at halftime.  The inside play of 6-foot-9 senior Brandon Braxton (Cape Charles, Va./Northampton) and key scores by Jordan Brown (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) and Calvin Croskey (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) helped R-MC to stretch the lead to six points in the first six minutes of the second half.

A big triple by junior Ed Roberts (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek) turned momentum to VWC however, as the Marlins used a 14-5 scoring run to open up a 42-39 lead.  Junior Donald Vaughn (Woodbridge, Va./Dumfries Potomac), sophomore Chris Teasley (Newport News, Va./Menchville), and woodmore all scored in the run for the Marlins.

Virginia Wesleyan stretched its lead to five points on a Teasley jumper with 6:51 remaining, but R-MC came back one more time. Lamar Giggetts (Fredericksburg, Va./Courtland), Danny Jones (Herndon, Va./Herndon) and Braxton scored to push the Jackets into a 48-47 lead.

Eighteen seconds later, Teasley hit two free throws to return the lead to Virginia Wesleyan for good.  The Marlins followed a missed three pointer by the Jackets with a huge jumper by junior Rakeem Davis (Chesapeake, Va./Deep Creek) to take a 51-48 lead with 2:29 on the clock.

A series of missed shots by both teams in the intense final minutes kept the score at 51-48 until Croskey connected on a pair of freebies with seven seconds remaining to pull the Jackets within a 51-50 score.  A missed front end of a bonus situation by VWC gave R-MC a chance to take the lead, but a three-point attempt by the Jackets did not fall.

The rebound went to VWC, the intentional technical by R-MC followed, and Woodmore hit the free throws to give the Marlins a 53-50 advantage.

Teasley led all scoring with 17 points, hitting three triples.  Vaughn added 14 points and Woodmore finished with nine. 

Jones led R-MC with 12 points and Braxton finished with 11.  Jones also led all rebounding with 11 caroms.  The Jackets posted a slim 34-32 advantage on the boards.

Virginia Wesleyan's defense helped force 16 Randolph-Macon turnovers.  VWC committed only eight against the nation's No. 1 defensive team.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 12, playing at Hampden-Sydney College at 2 p.m.

--AMDG--