The Virginia Wesleyan men's basketball team defeated the Battling Bishops of North Carolina Wesleyan 88-74 (7-2, 3-0 ODAC) on day one of the North Beach Plastic Surgery Winter Classic.
Amari Moorer had a double-double to highlight the night with 19 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 7-for-13 from the field, 0-for-1 from three-point territory, and 5-for-6 from the free throw line; he also registered three assists, two blocks, and three steals.
Waylo Wilson also scored 19 points, going 7-for-12 from the field and 5-for-9 from the free throw line; Wilson had four rebounds and one block.
Khai Seargeant also had a stellar performance with 19 points as he shot 6-for-9 from the field, 1-for-2 from beyond the arc, and 6-for-6 from the free throw line; he recorded two rebounds and two steals.
The Marlins had a strong start to the first half with back-to-back buckets scored by
Amari Moorer and
Paul Anderson to go up 4-0. North Carolina Wesleyan responded with a fast-break layup, but
Khai Seargeant followed up with a three-pointer to give the Marlins 7-2 lead.
Waylo Wilson scored consecutive lay-ups to extend the home team's lead to 11-2; and the Marlins continued to outscore the Battling Bishops, gaining a 23-8 lead with 11:45 on the clock.
After a minute long scoring drought, North Carolina Wesleyan scored off a tip-in.
Khai Seargeant was fouled beyond the arc and made all three free throws to go up 28-14 with 9:53 on the clock. The Battling Bishops went on a 7-0 scoring run that was ended by a jumper by
Paul Anderson to keep the Marlins ahead by a nine point lead. VWU struggled to shoot from the field, while the visiting team began to execute their plays. From 4:45 until the end of half the Battling Bishops outscored the Marlins 13-4 to lead going into halftime by a score of 38-37.
North Carolina Wesleyan started the second half with a layup to extend their lead to 40-37, but the Marlins responded with three consecutive layups by Moorer, Anderson, and DeVeaux to once again claim the lead. Between 18:00 and 13:58, the Marlins went on a 12-2 scoring run to go up 59-45.
North Carolina Wesleyan was able to string together an 13-4 run of their own to bridge the gap once again with 9:38 on the clock, bringing themselves within four points. Virginia Wesleyan ended the half with consistent foul shots and capitalized on turnovers to secure the win 88-74.
Tomorrow, the Marlins will face the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater at 3 p.m. to conclude tournament play.
