Marlins Outlast Generals in 81-78 OT Victory

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.—First-year guard Keijon Honore was able to steal away Washington and Lee's chances in the waning seconds of overtime as Virginia Wesleyan survived in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) contest 81-78. 

The 2016 inductees from the Virginia Wesleyan College Athletic Hall of Fame were recognized at halftime, picture below.

The first half saw W&L get out to a fast start.  They opened the game with a 10-2 run, which was bolstered by two three-pointers from Nicholas George.  This lead would eventually balloon to a 10 point difference after a three-pointer from Andrew Franz at the 8:21 mark. 

The Marlins, led by Khory Moore, answered the Generals early surge with one of their own.  Moore produced an 8-0 run with 4:02 remaining in the half to draw the score even at 30.  The Marlins would also end the half on a 9-0 spurt which saw Moore get fouled on a three-point attempt as the teams were gearing up to enter halftime. Moore would calmly sink three from the charity stripe and the Marlins carried a 39-33 lead into intermission.  Moore finished with 23 points in the first half. 

Virginia Wesleyan capitalized off the momentum gained from the end of the first half, with a strong start to the second.  They would go on an 11-0 run at the 18:55 mark capped by a Justin Watson three-pointer, which gave them a 50-36 lead.  This would be Wesleyan's largest lead of the night, but the Generals wouldn't go away, countering with a 14-3 run led by Andy Kleinlein who scored nine of the 14 points off the strength of two triples. That would put the score at 53-50, in favor of the Marlins.  From this point the game turned into a back and forth battle with the lead changing five times. 

With 2:08 left in regulation Clayton Murtha would sink a layup to give the Generals a 70-67 lead.  After multiple empty possessions VWC would knot it up again on a Watson three-pointer with little over a minute to go in the frame.  Virginia Wesleyan would then have an opportunity to win it at the buzzer, as Moore had the ball in his hands for the final shot.  Moore's attempt would fall short and the game would go into overtime. 

Overtime, much like the end of the second half, was extremely close. The Marlins would eventually take the period's first substantial run with a 10-3 spurt, which saw Watson score five of the 10 points.  This run would prove pivotal as it put the Marlins in the driver seat for the remainder of the game. However, W&L had a chance to tie or win the game with seven seconds left in the extra frame, as the score was at 80-78.  This is where Honore would play spoiler picking the pocket of Franz, which helped secure the victory for Virginia Wesleyan.

Kleinlein led Washington and Lee (10-3/3-11) with 19 points, with 17 coming in the second half and OT.  Murtha had 14 points to go along with nine rebounds. 

Moore paced the Marlins with 29 points and also added six rebounds.  Watson added 16 points on the strength of four three-pointers. Kaelin Poe would earn the games' only double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  Honore corralled a career-high five assists. 

Virginia Wesleyan (17-6/12-2) hosts Guilford College (14-9/9-5) for an ODAC match-up Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will also serve as Wesleyan's Senior Day as the Marlins recognize Nick Doyle.

(L to R): Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Joanne Renn, Sam Snow (men's soccer, '77), Anna Bowers Ratcliff (softball, '93), Larry Hultgren, Laura Wallace, women's lacrosse '06, Jacquelyn Griffin Koch, field hockey '04, Kevin Flanagan, baseball '04, and President Scott Miller, Ph.D.

There is one week left in the ODAC regular season. The top four seeds receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals, while seeds 5-8 will host seeds 9-12 in a first round game. Below are the current standings with conference records and the games left for each team.

1. Virginia Wesleyan (12-2)   -   2 left (vs. Guilford, at Lynchburg)
2. Roanoke (11-3)   -   2 left (at Lynchburg, at Randolph-Macon)
3. Lynchburg (10-4)   -   2 left (vs. Roanoke, vs. Virginia Wesleyan)
4. Guilford (9-5)   -   2 left (at Virginia Wesleyan, at Eastern Mennonite)
T5. Emory & Henry (7-7)   -   2 left (at Randolph, vs. Shenandoah)
T5. Randolph (7-7)   -   2 left (vs. Emory & Henry, vs. Washington and Lee)
T5. Randolph-Macon (7-7)   -   2 left (at Hampden-Sydney, vs. Roanoke)
8. Hampden-Sydney (6-8)   -   2 left (vs. Randolph-Macon, vs. Bridgewater)
T9. Eastern Mennonite (5-9)   -   2 left (at Washington and Lee, vs. Guilford)
T9. Bridgewater (5-9)   -   2 left (vs. Shenandoah, at Hampden-Sydney)
11. Washington and Lee (3-11)   -   2 left (vs. Eastern Mennonite, at Randolph)
12. Shenandoah (2-12)   -   2 left (at Bridgewater, at Emory & Henry)