VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia - The Virginia Wesleyan University men's basketball team defeated the Tigers of Hampden-Sydney College 77-65 on Wednesday evening at the Jane P. Batten Student Center in Virginia Beach, Va. The Marlins move to 11-2 overall and 3-1 in ODAC competition, while the Tigers are now 7-6 and 2-2.

GAME INFORMATION
The Marlins got back on track defeating the Tigers in ODAC action to stay amidst the top of the conference standings. 

INSIDE THE SCORE
The game began with the Marlins scoring their first point on a free throw by Tim Fisher 15 seconds into the game. Percy Burt snagged the offensive rebound from Fisher's missed free throw and got the tip in to put VWU up 3-0 early in the game. Hampden-Sydney pulled within one twice, trailing 5-4 at 17:56, but the Marlins went on a 10-0 run over the next five minutes to take an 11-point lead with 12:30 to play in the half. Virginia Wesleyan led by as many as 16 points, 28-12, following a layup from Fisher with 8:44 remaining, however, the Tigers closed the Marlins lead to 10 points, 33-23, after a three-pointer from Chaise Johnson with 4:24 to play. HSC continued to test the VWU defense pulling within four points at one point, but trailed by five, 39-34, at the halftime horn.

The second half began with the teams playing with a sense of urgency as Hampden-Sydney went on a 10-6 run closing Virginia Wesleyan's lead to three-points, 47-44, at the 13:32 mark. VWU opened a seven-point lead, 56-49, following a 9-5 run that consisted of three consecutive three's for the Marlins. Another three, this one by Burt, put the Marlins back up by double-digits as the Blue and White led 61-51 with 8:23 remaining in regulation. VWU managed to maintain a 10 to 14-point lead until the 1:36 mark when the Tigers connected on a pair of free throws cutting the lead to eight, 73-65. The Marlins closed out the game going 4-of-4 from the free-throw line putting the final score at 77-65 and returning to the win column.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN LEADERS
The Marlins were led by Jordan White who scored 16 points on the night. Percy Burt and Daniel Spencer each tallied 14 points while Tyree Golston tacked on 13 of his own to join in on the double-digit scoring. Spencer led VWU with eight rebounds and tied with Corey Pelham in assists with four. Burt was just behind Spencer with seven rebounds in the game. 

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY LEADERS
Three HSC Tigers scored in double-digits including Ryan Clements (18), Jack Wyatt (15), and Chaise Johnson (13). Wyatt also led in rebounds with seven.

KEY MOMENT
The key moment of the game came in a five-minute window of the second half when VWU scored 13 points while the Tigers were held to seven extending the Marlin lead to ten points.

UP NEXT
Virginia Wesleyan is back in action on Saturday, January 11, when they host ODAC rival Washington & Lee at the Jane P. Batten Student Center. Tip-off between the Marlins and Generals is scheduled for 2 PM.