LYNCHBURG, Virginia - The Virginia Wesleyan University men's basketball team fell to the Hornets from the University of Lynchburg in Lynchburg, Va. on Saturday afternoon. The Marlins move to 10-2 overall and 2-1 in ODAC competition, while the Hornets improved to 8-5 and 3-1.

GAME INFORMATION
The game against the Hornets is the first loss for the Marlins since November 23 when VWU fell to Averett 61-54.

INSIDE THE SCORE
The game began with the Marlins taking an early 9-2 lead as VWU hit three consecutive three-pointers. Five points from Tim Fisher off a three-pointer and a pair of free-throws gave Virginia Wesleyan a ten-point lead, 14-4, with 16 minutes remaining in the opening half. Over the next three minutes, the Hornets went on a 13-0 run taking the lead from the Marlins 17-14 (13:15) as Romeo Luke scored back-to-back three-pointers. The two squads proceeded to trade baskets back and forth and saw six tied and five lead changes that ended at 5:14 when the Hornets scored a basket that began a 6-2 run putting Lynchburg ahead 37-32 with 4:28 to play. The Marlins closed the gap to one or two points in the final minutes of the opening half but found themselves trailing by four, 48-44, at the halftime horn.

VWU resumed action with a fire to their play taking 4:15 to tie the score at 52 all following a three-pointer from Jordan White. A pair of Fisher free-throws gave the Marlins a slim 54-52 lead but it was quickly erased by a three from Romeo just before the 14-minute mark. Virginia Wesleyan went on a 7-0 run reclaiming the lead 61-55 after a pair of layups, one each from Fisher and Percy Burt, and a three from Burt. VWU managed to hold on to a six to seven-point lead until just after the four-minute mark of the second half when the Hornets went on a 6-2 run closing the Marlins lead to two points, 69-67 with 2:28 remaining. An and-one conversion by Lynchburg's Thacker gave the Hornets a one-point 72-71 lead with 74 seconds remaining to play. Burt hit s key three-pointer giving VWU a 74-72 lead with 14 seconds remaining but Lynchburg responded in kind with a three from Romeo to give the Hornets a 75-74 lead with three seconds to play. The final point came by free-throw with Romeo winning the game for Lynchburg 76-74.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN LEADERS
Tim Fisher led the Marlins with a game-high 26 points while shooting 9-of-15 from the field including 3-of-4 from three-point land and 5-of-6 at the free-throw line. Tyree Golston and Daniel Spencer each tallied 13 points and Percy Burt added 12 points to the mix. Spencer led the Marlins with 10 rebounds while Fisher had six assists.

LYNCHBURG LEADERS
T.C. Thacker led the Hornets with 24 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double while Luke Romeo was the only other Lynchburg player to join him in double figures with 16 points.

KEY MOMENT
The key moment of the game came in the final three seconds of the game when the Hornets took the led, 75-74, following a three from Romeo. A free throw with one second remaining secured the Hornet victory of 76-74.

UP NEXT
Virginia Wesleyan is back in action on Wednesday, January 8, when they return to the Jane P. Batten Student Center for an ODAC matchup against the Tigers of Hampden-Sydney. The first tip is scheduled for 7 PM.