WINCHESTER, Virginia - The No. 23 VWU men's basketball team defeated the Hornets of Shenandoah University 71-55 on Wednesday evening in Winchester, Va. The Marlins move to 13-2 overall and 5-1 in ODAC competition, while the Hornets are now 5-10 and 2-4.

GAME INFORMATION
The win is the third consecutive win for the Marlins while the Hornets drop their third game in a row. 

INSIDE THE SCORE
The game began with both teams trading missed shots for the opening two minutes of action before Daniel Spencer connected a pass from Percy Burt for a layup getting the Marlins on the scoreboard first. The score sat tied at four-all with 14:28 remaining in the first half before the Marlins went on a 9-0 run on three consecutive three-pointers to take a 13-4 lead by the 13-minute mark. By the time the clock hit 9:30 remaining, the Marlins had taken a 23-10 lead following a 10-6 run. The score remained 23-10 until Alan Dabney made a jumper for the Hornets at 5:46 ending the scoring drought. Shenandoah closed out the first half on a 10-6 run putting the Marlins up by seven points, 29-22, at the halftime buzzer.

VWU came out of the break on a 5-2 run opening up a 10-point lead of 34-24 by the 18:12 mark. A layup from Burt just after the 16-minute mark put the Marlins ahead by 15 points leading 41-26. The Hornets pulled within nine-points of the Marlins, 43-34, following an 8-2 run that left just under 11-minutes to play. VWU responded with a run of their own that opened the gap to 16-points with the Marlins leading 51-35 following a jumper from Corey Pelham. A layup from Burt off of a Daniel Spencer assist gave the Marlins an 18-point lead, 55-37, with 7:48 to play but Shenandoah closed it to 13 points, 60-47 with just under four to go. Virginia Wesleyan held the Hornets to only eight more points the remainder of the game while scoring 11 points of their own to win 71-55.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN LEADERS
Corey Pelham led the Marlins with 19 points while Percy Burt added 16 of his own. Daniel Spencer and Jordan White also tallied double-digits with 13 and 10 respectively. Tim Fisher led the rebounding game with 10 rebounds for VWU. 

SHENANDOAH LEADERS
The Hornets were led by Christopher Chaney with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Alan Dabney had 10 points for Shenandoah. 

KEY MOMENT
The key moment of the game came early in the second half with the Marlins opening up a double-digit lead over the Hornets. The lead faired to be too much for Shenandoah as Virginia Wesleyan claimed the victory.

UP NEXT
Virginia Wesleyan continues its road trip with a contest at Roanoke College on Saturday, January 18. The Maroons and Marlins square off at 2 PM in Salem, Va. in ODAC competition.