The Virginia Wesleyan University men's basketball team (19-9, 9-7 ODAC) was defeated by Swarthmore 67-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Waylo Wilson led the team scoring 14 points shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal, Miles Wallace scored 11 points shooting 4-for-9 the field, 1-for-2 from beyond the arc, 2-for-2 from the free throw line, grabbed two rebounds, two assists, and one steal, and Amari Moorer scored 10 points shooting 5-for-11 from the field, and grabbed five rebounds.

Keys to the Game:

• The Garnet shot 25-for-56 (44.6%) from the field, 5-for-20 (25.0%) from deep, and 12-for-15 (80.0%) from the charity stripe, while the Marlins shot 25-for-68 (36.8%) from the field, 3-for-17 (17.6%) from beyond the arc, and 6-for-10 from the free throw line. 
• The Marlins scored 44 points in the paint versus Swarthmore's 32 points, both teams were even on rebounds with Garnet grabbing 40 rebounds versus the Marlins 39.
• VWU's defense forced nine turnovers, with four steals and one block, and scored 12 points off turnovers, while Swarthmore forced six turnovers, with three steals and seven blocks, and scored two points off turnovers. 

How It Happened:

The Garnet went up 5-0 in the first five minutes of the game and outscored the Marlins 13-4 over the next ten minutes to lead 18-4. 

In the last five minutes of the first half, the Marlins offense got going and managed to bring the score to 37-19 by halftime. 

Virginia Wesleyan made some halftime adjustments that paid off as they outscored Swarthmore 6-2 in the opening five minutes to cut down the lead to 39-25 at the 14:50 mark. The Marlins kept up the pace and went on an 11-4 run to come within seven of the Garnet. 

Over the next four minutes, Swarthmore increased their lead to 57-46, but VWU countered with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 57-52 with 4:53 left in the second half. The Marlins were unable to string together stops and the Garnet went on to win the game 67-59.