The Virginia Wesleyan University men's basketball team (7-2) suffered its second defeat of the season in a double overtime loss to Christopher Newport, 97-95.
Omari DeVeaux led the offense with 41 points, shooting 14-for-26 from the field, 3-for-6 from deep, and 10-for-16 from the free throw line. He had one rebound, five assists, one block, and two steals.
Amari Moorer scored 22 points, shooting 9-for-19 from the field, 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, and had seven rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and two steals.
Miles Hancock recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor and 4-for-8 from the free-throw line.
The Captains came out hot, jumping out to a 7-2 lead at the 17:47 mark in the game. Christopher Newport continued their run of play, going on a 6-2 run to take a 13-4 lead. Over the next three minutes, VWU went on a 9-8 run to bring the score to 21-13. The Marlins rallied, going on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 23-21 with 8:21 left in the first half.
Over the next three minutes, both teams' defenses held strong, only scoring nine total points with CNU scoring six of those to lead 29-24 with 4:57 left in the first half. Virginia Wesleyan's offense got hot and went on a 7-2 run to tie the game 31-31 at the 4:02 mark in the game. In the last three minutes of the first half, the Marlins outscored the host 9-8 to hold a 40-39 lead heading into the break.
After the break, the Captains scored the first bucket of the second half to lead 41-40. However, the Marlins responded with a 6-0 run to take a 46-41 lead. CNU made a bucket, but the Marlins went on a 5-2 run to lead 51-43 with 15:37 left in the game. Over the next five minutes, the Captains went on a 9-4 run to bring the score to 55-52 at the 10:15 mark.
Christopher Newport outscored the Marlins 6-3 over the next 80 seconds to tie the game at 58-58.
Omari DeVeaux made a dagger three to retake the lead and helped VWU go on a 5-0 run to lead 63-60 with 5:51 left in the game. CNU went on a 6-3 run over the next two minutes to tie the game at 66-66, and followed that with a 5-2 run to take a 71-68 lead with 1:42 left in the game. The Captains made the next two free throws to extend their lead to 73-68, but the Marlins responded with a 5-0 run to tie the game at 73-73 with 1:06 left in the game. In the final minute, DeVeaux was able to make two free throws to lead 75-73 with 22 seconds left in the game. The Captains responded and made a tough shot with 8.6 seconds left in the game. Virginia Wesleyan had a chance to win with a layup, but it was missed, forcing overtime.
Heading into overtime, the Captains went on a 6-3 run in the first minutes of play to take an 81-78 lead. However, DeVeaux responded with another dagger three to tie the game at 81-81 with 3:03 left in the game. No bucket was easy in overtime, but CNU built an 84-82 lead with 23 seconds left. DeVeaux scored a basket with three seconds left to force a second overtime.
In the second overtime, the Marlins made a free throw to start the scoring and take an 85-84 lead. CNU responded with a 6-4 run to take a 90-89 lead with 2:37 left in the game. VWU responded with a 3-2 run, tying the game at 92-92 with 1:14 left, but the Captains pushed the play and were awarded free throws to fuel their 5-0 run, giving them a 97-92 lead. With three seconds left,
Amari Moorere made a clutch three to bring the score to 97-95 and forced a turnover with 1.8 seconds to give the Marlins the last shot in the game. However, Virginia Wesleyan could not sink the shot and fell in double overtime, 97-95.
