SALEM, Virginia - The Virginia Wesleyan University men's basketball team got even with the Quakers as the Marlins defeated Guilford 77-74 in the semifinals of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship tournament at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, VA, on Saturday afternoon.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Virginia Wesleyan 77 - Guilford 74
Records: Virginia Wesleyan 18-9, 12-4 | Guilford 18-7, 13-3
Location: Salem, VA | Salem Civic Center
INSIDE THE SCORE
The Marlins got out to an early 11-2 lead after back-to-back three pointers from
Corey Pelham and
Jordan Crump got VWU going. Virginia Wesleyan opened up a 12 point lead, 20-8, after a free throw by
Tim Fisher connected at 15:20. VWU held on to their double-digit advantage until 10:25 on the clock when Guilford's Tyler Dearman dunked the ball putting the score at 28-19. The Quakers battled their way bac to within two points, 36-34, with 3:53 left in the half after going on a 15-8 run. VWU closed the first half out on an 8-2 run taking a 44-36 lead into the intermission.
The Quakers remained within a couple of points of the Marlins, 46-44, through the first three minutes of the second half, but VWU reclaimed a nine point lead, 54-45 (13:06), after a 9-1 rally capped by a layup from
Eric Rowland. Guilford used the next eight minutes to eat away at the Virginia Wesleyan lead as a Jorden Davis three pointer at the 5:23 mark put the score at 62-59. The Marlins got back up by about six points and held it until the 1:27 mark when the Quakers pulled within four points, 72-68. In the final 90 seconds, Guilford climbed within one, 75-74, after a pair of made free throws by Jaylen Gore. Pelham responded with a pair of made free throws of his own to give VWU a 77-74 lead with four seconds left and it was just enough cushion for the Marlins to win and advance to the championship game against the No. 1 seeded Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon.
MARLIN LEADERS
The Marlins were led by
Tim Fisher with 19 points.
Corey Pelham was close behind with 18 points while
Anthony Jackson added 10 points as the only other Marlin in double digits. Omari Deveaux and
Eric Rowland each tallied nine points. Rowland had a team high 10 rebounds while both Fisher and Pelham added nine each.
As a team the Marlins shot 47.4% from behind the three point arch connecting on 9 of 19 shots while going 24 of 35 from the charity stripe. VWU collected 39 rebounds and dished out 16 assists.
QUAKERS LEADERS
The Quakers were led by Tyler Dearman with 20 points, while Jaylen Gore added 15. Jorden Davis tallied 14 and Julius Burch contributed 10. As a team Guilford made 14 steals.
UP NEXT
The Marlins return to the court tomorrow in what will be a repeat of the 2020 ODAC Men's Basketball Championship game. R-MC and VWU will meet at 1 PM for tip off at the Salem Civic Center.
Fans can purchase tickets
HERE.
2022 ODAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS AND SCHEDULE - LIVE BRACKET
Semifinals | Saturday, February 26 | at Salem Civic Center
Game 7: #1 Randolph-Macon def. #5 Roanoke - 75-58
Game 8: #3 Virginia Wesleyan def. #2 Guilford - 77-74
Championship | Sunday, February 27 | at Salem Civic Center
Game 9: #1 Randolph-Macon vs. #3 Virginia Wesleyan | 1:00 p.m. ET
