SALEM, Va. -- One team was hot, the other was not.

That just about sums up what led to Randolph-Macon College's 75-64 victory over top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan College in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) championship game on Sunday in the Salem Civic Center.

While the Yellow Jackets (19-9) hit a blistering 65% from the field in the second half, and 54.9% for the game, the top seeded, No. 21 ranked Marlins (21-7) connected on 40.7% in the second half and only 39.3% for the contest.

R-MC, which last won the ODAC title in 2011, earn the league's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III national championship tournament.  VWC, the 2012 ODAC champion, will have to wait until Monday, Feb. 25 to see if it receives an at-large bid to the tournament.  The Division III Men's Basketball Selection Show takes place at 12:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Randolph-Macon, which knocked off second-seeded Hamden-Sydney College to get to Sunday's title game, earned its berth in the tournament by breaking away from the Marlins late in the second half.  Senior Tre' Ford (Falls Church/J.E.B. Stuart) scored on a layup to pull Virginia Wesleyan within a 56-52 score with 7:28 remaining in the tight game, but the Marlins would never get closer.

Free throws by Connor Sullivan (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) and Andre Smion (Newport News/Menchville) sparked a 10-0 surge for the Jackets who opened up a 66-52 lead with 4:26 on the clock.  VWC junior Trent Batson (Lewes, Del./Cape Henlopen) hit one of two free throw attempts to stop the run, but not for long.

Scoring by Sullivan and Joe Hassell (Portsmouth/Indian River) helped Randolph-Macon to maintain control and Virginia Wesleyan never got closer than 11 points in the final two minutes.

The Marlins, who played without standout juniorDJ Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown) for the second consecutive game due to an ankle injury, were led by senior Chris Teasley (Newport News/Menchville) with 18 points.  Senior Chris Astorga (Suffolk/Virginia Beach Cape Henry Collegiate) added 14 points and Ford finished with 13 points.

Virginia Wesleyan attempted 12 triples in the game and hit only three.  The Marlins were 1-for-7 from long-range in the first half when the team shot only 38.2% from the field overall.

Simon finished as the leading scorer for R-MC with 18 points, nailing 8-of-11 field goal attempts.  Sullivan followed with 15 points and Akeem Holmes (King William/King William) and Hassell added 11 points each. 

--AMDG--