The Virginia Wesleyan men's basketball team (8-2, 3-0 ODAC) defeated the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater University in a closely matched game 61-58 to win the North Beach Plastic Surgery Winter Classic.
All-Tournament Team:
Most Valuable Player:
Khai Seargeant
Virginia Wesleyan:
Amari Moorer
Waylo Wilson
Wisc.-Whitewater:
Carter Capstran
Luke Bara
NC Wesleyan:
Khalid Chavis-Hinds
Amari Moorer scored 13 points, shooting 6-for-13 from the field, 0-for-1 from three-point territory, and 1-for-2 from the free throw line; he registered eight rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Waylo Wilson scored eight points, going 4-for-12 from the field and 0-for-1 from the free throw line; Wilson recorded eight rebounds and three blocks.
Khai Seargeant topped the leaderboard with 21 points, as he went 6-for-10 from the field, 2-for-5 from beyond the arc, and 7-for-8 from the free throw line; and he tallied one assist.
Both teams came out strong, to start the contest with
Khai Seargeant making the first basket of the game to put the Marlins on the board 2-0. The Warhawks scored from beyond the arc, but Seargeant responded with a three of his own to put the home team in front yet again. The score was tied three times between 17:37 and 13:23 as both teams continued to play aggressive on the offense.
Khai Seargeant earned a steal at 9:36 and after two missed baskets by the Marlins within the same possession,
Paul Anderson finally scored a three-pointer off an assist by
Amari Moorer with 8:53 on the clock to tie the game.
A scoring drought between 7:10 and 4:58 was ended by an impressive play by
Amari Moorer who rebounded his own missed layup and finished the play with a jumper to put the Marlins ahead 22-18. With just over two minutes left in the half,
Omari DeVeaux scored a three-pointer to give VWU a five-point lead, but Wisconsin-Whitewater strung together an 8-0 run to end the half with a 28-25 lead.
Virginia Wesleyan had a strong start to the second half with a 7-0 run between 16:55 and 14:58 to earn a lead for the first time since the first half, but the visiting team quickly reversed the momentum with a 4-0 run to lead 38-36.
Elijah Gardner came in clutch for the Marlins with a three-pointer with one second left on the shot clock, getting fouled and making his free-throw for the four-point play.
Both teams continued to make baskets to exchange the lead late into the second half. With just over a minute remaining in the game,
Khai Seargeant scored a jumper to put the Marlins ahead 58-56. The Warhawks missed a key three-pointer, which was rebounded by
Amari Moorer to give the Marlins possession with forty-eight seconds on the clock.
Paul Anderson found
Waylo Wilson in the paint for a game deciding dunk. With twelve seconds on the clock, the Warhawks scored a jumper then fouled
Omari DeVeaux, who made one of his free throws to put the Marlins ahead by three. Wisconsin-Whitewater was unable to score in the last possession of the game, securing the 61-58 win for Virginia Wesleyan.
