Box Score LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The Virginia Wesleyan men's basketball team fell to the WildCats of Randolph College on Wednesday evening in Lynchburg, VA, to kick off action in 2023. Leading the charge for the Marlins was Jordan Crump with 15 points while Amarion Wilson tallied 13 points. 

INSIDE THE SCORE
Result: Randolph 75 - Virginia Wesleyan 62
Records: Virginia Wesleyan 11-2, 3-2 | Randolph 5-9, 1-4
Location: Lynchburg, Va.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After getting on the board first following a layup by Omari DeVeaux, the WildCats went on an 8-2 run to lead 8-4 as the clock ticketed under the 17-minute mark. VWU pulled within one, 8-7, however, RC went on a 9-1 scoring drive to lead by nine, 17-8, as the clock hit 13:58. Over the next four minutes, Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 12-5 run of their own to pull within three points, 22-19 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the opening half. The WildCats claimed a double-digit lead, 30-19, following an 8-0 run with 6:55 on the clock. The Marlins closed out the first half scoring nine points while the WildCats scored five putting the score at 35-28 at the buzzer. 

Randolph held on to a double-digit lead throughout a majority of the second half with the exception of the opening four minutes of the period during which Virginia Wesleyan pulled within six, 44-38, with 16:37 on the clock. The remainder of the second half saw the Marlins go 9-for-27 scoring 24 points while the WildCats scored 31 points to hold the lead at the final horn 75-62.

KEY STATS
The Marlins were led by Jordan Crump with 15 points and four rebounds, while Amarion WIlson scored 13 points and brought down six rebounds. Omari DeVeaux added 12 points while Eric Rowland contributed 11 points of his own.

UP NEXT
Virginia Wesleyan returns to the court again on Saturday, January 7, when they return home to TowneBank Arena in Virginia Beach to host the Maroons of Roanoke College. Tip-off is set for 2 PM. Both teams in the recent D3hoops.com rankings were receiving votes.