VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia - The No. 18 VWU men's basketball team defeated the Panthers of Ferrum College 71-62 on Friday evening at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va. The Marlins move to 22-4 overall and advance to the Semifinals of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament.

INSIDE THE SCORE
The game began with a pair of baskets from Percy Burt and Tim Fisher to give the Marlins a 4-0 lead after the first two minutes. The Panthers got onto the board following a three-pointer from Kajuan Madden-McAfee that put the score at 4-3. VWU went on an 8-2 run over two minutes taking a 12-5 lead by the 15:13 mark. Ferrum clawed their way back over a six-minute span to trail the Marlins by one, 19-18, with 9:30 remaining in the opening half. Virginia Wesleyan took a five-point lead twice but saw it fade as the Panthers took a 26-25 lead on a three bt Rashad Reed wt the 4:43 mark. The teams traded points and the lead twice before the horn buzzed marking halftime with Ferrum leading 34-33. 

The first five minutes of the second half saw the teams trade leads three times with two ties, the last at 40-all with 15:07 on the clock. VWU reclaimed the lead on a 5-0 run that included three free throws and a Fisher jumper putting the Marlins ahead 45-40 with 13:41 to play. The Panthers came back to tie the score two more times, at 45 and 48-all, before the Marlins opened up an eight-point lead, 58-50, following a 10-2 run capped by a pair of free throws from Fisher. Ferrum closed the gap to just three points, 63-60 with 3:50 on the clock, following a 10-5 run by the Panthers. Virginia Wesleyan held off Ferrum in the final minutes of the game to win 71-62 and advance to the next round of the ODAC tournament. 

NO. 18 VIRGINIA WESLEYAN LEADERS
The Marlins were led by Daniel Spencer with 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead both categories for VWU. Tim Fisher, 14 pts and 10 rebounds, and Percy Burt, 13 pts and 11 rebounds, both recorded double-doubles and Jordan White added 10 points off the bench joining his teammates in double-digits.

FERRUM LEADERS
The Panthers were led by James Smith with 23 points while Chase Woodward scored 17 points and brought down 10 rebounds. Rashad Reed joined his teammates in double-digits with 14 points. 

KEY MOMENT
The key moment of the game came in the second half during a three-minute window that saw the Marlins go on a 10-2 run putting them ahead by eight points, a lead that was large enough to keep the Panthers at bay. 

UP NEXT
No. 18 Virginia Wesleyan Marlins advance to the semifinals of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament in Salem, VA. They will play the Hornets of the University of Lynchburg at 8 PM in the Salem Civic Center.