VIRGINIA BEACH -- With stress fractures in both legs a year ago, Trent Batson sat patiently on the sidelines of the Virginia Wesleyan College men's basketball team.

It was a situation that not only kept him out of competition, but also kept him off the court for practices all season long.

Well, his long, trying wait to show what he can do ended impressively on Saturday as the 6-foot-6 junior from Lewes, Delaware (Cape Henlopen) turned in a near-perfect effort in helping the No. 1/2 Marlins to an impressive 96-59 victory over No. 10 Cabrini College in the championship game of the Virginia Wesleyan Tip-Off Tournament at the Jane P. Batten Student Center.

Batson hit 3-of-4 field goal attempts, including 2-of-2 triple attempts, and connected only 2-of-3 free throws en route to scoring a career-high 10 points.  He also pulled down four rebounds, recorded two assists, and tied for the team lead with four blocks.

"Just look at his line," said VWC head coach Dave Macedo. "This is a kid who never even practiced for us last season.  But, he's healthy again and came off the bench to help spark us.  He and Colby (Heard) both had good weekends as new players in our line-up."

Heard (Virginia Beach/Tallwood), another 6-6 junior who played in only 10 games last season, has started in both games this season for VWC (2-0), giving the Marlins a force in the middle. He hit 5-of-7 shots and scored 11 points against Cabrini (1-1), after tallying a career-high 13 points in Friday's 88-63 victory over Pennsylvania's St. Vincent College.

While the "newcomers" had good weekends, so did the crew of veterans, led by junior All-American D.J. Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown) and seniors Chris Teasley (Newport News/Menchville), Chris Astorga (Suffolk/Virginia Beach Cape Henry Collegiate), and Tre' Ford (Falls Church/J.E.B. Stuart).  The quartet combined for 44 points, 20 rebounds, 12 assists, six blocks, and six steals against Cabrini. 

It was Woodmore who got it all started against the talented Cavaliers, as he nailed a triple off a feed from Ford two minutes into the game.  Woodmore scored the first nine points of the game for VWC, before senior Will Smith III (Norfolk/Norview) hit on a jumper that gave VWC an 11-10 lead.

Senior Jeremy Knowles (Antioch, Calif./Pittsburg) gave Cabrini a 12-11 lead on a jumper, before Virginia Wesleyan took the lead for good on a Batson triple off a Teasley assist.  Arron Goodman (Newtown Square, Pa./Council Rock) helped keep Cabrini within a five point spread with 8:01 before halftime.

It never got closer however, as an Astorga triple sparked a 19-7 closing run that gave VWC a 39-22 lead at halftime.  Astorga scored seven points in that run, which included back-to-back dunks by Heard.  Sophomore Greg Montgomery (Norfolk/Virginia Beach Princess Anne) came off the bench to add four points.

Heard started the scoring in the second half with a jumper for the Marlins, who opened up a 68-41 lead with 8:53 remaining.  The Marlins utilized a deep bench throughout the second half to keep the pressure on the Cavaliers, who never got closer than 15 points.

Astorgan led VWC scoring with 15 points, followed by Woodmore with 12 pints, Heard with 11, and Teasley and Batson with 10 each.  Rookie Sedric Nady (Chicago, Ill./Virginia Beach Landstown) hit 3-of-3 triples and scored a career-high nine points. Woodmore and Teasley pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds each, Teasley led the Marlins with five assists, and Astorga and Batson tied for the team lead with four blocks each.

Goodman hit 8-of-12 shots and lead Cabrini with 17 points.  A.J. Williams (Wilmington, Del./St. Elizabeth) added 14 points.  Goodman led all rebounders with 10.

Virginia Wesleyan returns to competition on Monday, Nov. 26, playing its first road game of the season in Fayettville, N.C., against the Monarchs of Methodist University in a non-conference game starting at 7 p.m.

Woodmore was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, which included Teasley as a member of the All-Tournament team.  Williams and Goodman were also named to the all-tournament squad, along with Apprentice School's Tevin Andrews (Pike County, Ala./Pike County) and St. Vincent's Isaac Turner (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park).

St. Vincent finished 1-1 in the tournament after recording a 65-59 victory over Apprentice in the consolation game.  The Bearcats opened up a 38-26 halftime lead and held off a strong Apprentice rally in the second half as the Builders closed within five points, but could not grab the lead.

Turne led St. Vincent with 16 points, Chris Klimchock (Greensburg, Pa./Salem) added 15, Dillon Stith (Bedford, Va./Liberty) finished with 14, and Grant Latus (Pittsburgh/Mount Lebanon) added 10 points.  Latus also topped the team with eight rebounds and four blocks.

Darrell Fenton (New Kent/New Kent) tallied 21 points to lead Apprentice, which received 10 points from Lance Darden (Emporia/Greenville County).  Sam Melendez (Suffolk/Nansemond River) contributed with 10 rebounds and Lavontae Thomas (Chesapeake/Deep Creek) recorded eight assists.

--AMDG--