VIRGINIA BEACH -- Khory Moore's 18 minutes on the court Saturday for Virginia Wesleyan College were outright stunning not only for the host Marlins, but also for the visiting Guilford College Quakers.

Guilford owned an 8-3 lead early in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) clash between league leaders when Moore (Arlington/Wakefield), a rookie, scored 10 unanswered points to catapult Virginia Wesleyan into a 13-8 lead. His effort sparked the Marlins on both ends of Donald M. Forsyth court as the defense joined in during a 20-4 scoring spurt that gave VWC a 23-12 lead with 8:50 remaining in the first half.

Moore was key throughout the half, helping to lead Virginia Wesleyan to 41-32 at the break.  He outscored Guilford 13-12 in the first 12 minutes and matched the Quakers' total offense with 5:03 on the clock, both with 19 points.

Moore scored only two points in the second half to finish with a career-high 21, but his Marlin teammates found additional scorers to keep things rolling to an impressive 84-59 victory at the Jane P. Batten Student Center. Senior All-American D.J. Woodmore (Virginia Beach/Landstown) scored 10 points in the half, sophomore Sedric Nady (Virginia Beach/Landstown) added eight points, and senior Aaron Clark (Virginia Beach/Tallwood) tallied six.

Moore sparked it all however, and hit 7-of-13 shots overall.  His offensive output included a 5-of-7 showing from three-point range, where he led the Marlins on another outstanding long-range effort.  VWC hit 17-of-35 triples, tying the program record the Marlins set earlier this season against Apprentice School in November.  Virginia Wesleyan nailed 8-of-16 treys in the second half to pull away.

The loss was the first of the conference season for Guilford, which dropped to 5-1 in the league and to 11-4 overall.  Virginia Wesleyan improved to 5-1 in the league and to 12-3 overall.

After the Marlins took control in the first half, they never let up.  VWC scored the first eight points of the second half, helped by triples from Woodmore and Nady, to extend the lead to 49-32. Senior Jake Hopkins (Kernesville, N.C./East Forsyth) hit three consecutive shots for Guilford to cut the lead to 13, but it wasn't enough to derail the Marlins.

Senior Colby Heard (Virginia Beach/Tallwood) and rookie Kaelin Poe (Hampton/Kecoughtan) nailed consecutive shots, and Clark connected on a triple, as the Marlins pushed out to a 58-40 lead with 14:05 on the clock. Woodmore scored on a dunk and a triple and Nady followed with a triple and a layup to help VWC to a 68-46 lead in the next six minutes.

Guilford never got closer than 20 points thereafter.

Moore's career-high 21 points topped a balanced Virginia Wesleyan offense that included 12 points each from Woodmore and Clark.  Woodmore hit 5-of-9 shots and Clark hit 4-of-8 triple attempts.  Nady connected on 4-of-6 shots, including three triples, finishing with 11 points.  VWC shot 51.7% from the floor in the second half and held Guilford to 33.3% from the floor.

Guilford won the battle of the backboards, 40-35, led by Matt McCarthy (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel) with eight rebounds. He also scored 13 points, but it was Hopkins who led the Quakers' scoring, finishing with 20 points.  He hit 8-of-13 field goal attempts and was 4-of-4 from the free throw lines. Rookie Trever Hyatt (Connelly Springs, N.C./East Burke) added 10 points.

Virginia Wesleyan's ability to find the open shooters was reflected in a total of 22 assists on 31 baskets made. It marked the Marlins' sixth game of 20+ assists this season.  Woodmore led Saturday's showing with six assists, followed by Clark with four.

Virginia Wesleyan continues a tough ODAC slate on Wednesday, Jan. 22, when the Marlins travel to Ashland, Va., to take on the Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College at 7 p.m. The Yellow Jackets are also 5-1 in the league and 11-4 overall, and riding a seven-game winning streak.

--AMDG--