VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia - The No. 18 VWU men's basketball team narrowly edged out the Hornets of Shenandoah University 75-71 on Wednesday evening in an ODAC midweek contest at the Jane P. Batten Student Center in Virginia Beach, Va. The Marlins move to 20-4 overall and 12-3 in ODAC competition, while the Hornets are now 6-18 and 3-12. 

INSIDE THE SCORE
The game began with the teams trading baskets early tying the score at five all three minutes into the action. Virginia Wesleyan went on a 10-3 run over the next two minutes taking a 15-8 lead that they held until the 14:53 mark when Shenandoah's Harry Wall hit a three to pull the Hornets within four points 15-11. Shenandoah closed the gap further to just one point, 15-14, before tying the game at 16 all with 13:32 remaining in the opening half. The Marlins took a 21-18 lead following a 5-2 run that included a three from Corey Pelham and a layup from Daniel Spencer, however, the Hornets took a three-point, 24-21, lead at the 8:44 mark following a pair of baskets one each from Ethan Diffee and Alex Horvath. VWU responded by going on an 11-2 rally to lead 32-26 with 5:07 on the clock but SU closed out the first half on a 16-5 streak to lead 42-37 at the break.

Shenandoah came out of the break on a 4-0 run taking a nine-point lead that they held until the 16-minute mark when Spencer successfully converted an and-one opportunity to pull within six, 46-40. The Hornets claimed a double-digit, 10-point lead, of 51-41 following a three from Zach Garrett with 15:17 remaining. The Marlins erased the Hornets 10-point lead over the next five minutes tying the score and taking the lead 54-53 on a pair of free throws from Spencer with 10:06 to play. VWU grew their lead to five-points, 58-53 and 60-55, in the following three minutes, but SU fought back to knot the score at 68 all with just 1:05 remaining in the game following a 13-8 run over a six-minute window. Spencer completed another three-point play on a layup/free-throw combination to lead 71-68 with 30 seconds in regulation. Shenandoah climbed within one, 71-70, following a pair of free throws of their own but the Marlins held on in the final seconds of the game making four of their six free throws to separate themselves by four points, 75-71, and emerging with the victory.

NO. 18 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN LEADERS
The Marlins were led by Daniel Spencer with 25 points and Corey Pelham with 20 points in the contest. Pelham and Tim Fisher tied for the lead in rebounds with seven apiece, while Spencer and Percy Burt were close behind with six rebounds each.

SHENANDOAH LEADERS
The Hornets were led by Zach Garrett with 18 points including four three-pointers. Christopher Chaney was closed behind with 17 points while Harry Wall and Jalen Hill joined in the double-digit game with 12 and 11 points respectively.

KEY MOMENT
The key moment of the game came in the final seconds of the game when the Marlins converted four of six free throws in the final 17 seconds to hold off the Hornets for the come-from-behind victory.

UP NEXT
No. 18 Virginia Wesleyan is back at the Jane P. Batten Student Center this weekend when they play host to the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University. The Royals and Marlins tipoff at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 22, with a senior day ceremony prior to tipoff.