Marlins Upset by No. 6 Randolph 69-61 in ODAC Semis

SALEM, Va. -- No. 6 Randolph College outscored No. 2 Virginia Wesleyan 40-29 in the first half, holding on late to bring down the Marlins and set up a matchup with No. 1 Lynchburg College for the ODAC Championship.

The Marlins were held to 30.3% shooting from the field with only one made basket from inside the three-point arc as Tim Jones, Khory Moore, and Justin Watson were the lone Marlins to find the basket against the ODAC-leading Randolph defense.

Jones started the scoring on Saturday night as his three-pointer of the Marlins' first possession made the score 3-0. Randolph responded with an 11-0 run to jump ahead 11-3 just five minutes into the contest. The Marlins would not manage to regain the lead despite a late push.

Aaron Sturdifen cut the Randolph lead to just four points with five minutes remaining in the game, a gap the Marlins would not allow to grow much larger. Trailing 64-58 with 2:35 to play, Jones knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to a single possession. Zach Desgain made a layup with 1:22 left to push the lead back to five, 66-61. The Randolph defense held the Marlins to an 0-for-6 shooting mark the remainder of the half to pull out the victory.

Josh Freund led Randolph (17-11) with 20 points and 12 rebounds while Corey Brown registered 16 points and 11 boards while Desgain finished with 11 points.

Jones led all scorers for the Marlins with 24 points. Moore was the lone other Marlin in double-figures with 18 points.

Randolph made 14 free throws in the game while the Marlins were sent to the stripe just five times. The WildCats shot 53.2% from the floor, knocking down five trifectas.

Virginia Wesleyan (18-9) now awaits an at-large bid in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Selection Show will air Monday, February 29 at 12:30 p.m. The link for the show is below:

Division III Selection Show