The Virginia Wesleyan University men's basketball team (2-0) defeated the University of Mary Washington 65-48 to win the TowneBank Tipoff Tournament for the second straight year.
Omari DeVeaux led the team with 18 points, shooting 6-for-13 from the field, 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, and 2-for-3 from the free throw line; he had four rebounds, one steal, and one assist.
Paul Anderson registered 13 points shooting 4-for-8 from the field, 3-for-7 from three-point territory, and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe; had five rebounds, and three steals.
Waylo Wilson recorded 13 points, shooting 5-for-6 from the field, was 3-for-8 from the free throw line; grabbed seven rebounds, had one block, one steal, and one assist.
The Marlins' defense had a fantastic start as they held the Eagles to one point in the first seven and a half minutes of play to give the host a 12-1 lead. Mary Washington's offense woke up and went on a 10-5 over the next six minutes to bring the score to 17-11 with 7:29 left in the first half. The Eagles went on a 4-1 run over the next two minutes to cut the lead to 18-15, but the Marlins responded with an 11-4 run to lead 29-20 at halftime.
Coming out of the break, Virginia Wesleyan made some good adjustments and started to pull away from Mary Washington. In the first five minutes, VWU went on an 11-6 run to lead 40-26. Over the next seven minutes, Virginia Wesleyan was able to hold on to their double-digit lead but went on an 8-3 run, scoring four free throws, and two jump shots made by
Amari Moorer and
Khai Seargeant, to lead 54-38 with 7:15 left in the game. With a large lead, the Marlins were able to slow the game down and play good defense to seal the 65-48 win over Mary Washington.
