The Virginia Wesleyan men's basketball team (19-6, 12-4 ODAC) defeated the Hornets of the University of Lynchburg in overtime 75-66, securing the fourth seed in the ODAC Men's Basketball Tournament.
Khai Seargeant led the Marlin offense with 22 points, shooting 8-for-19 from the field, 5-for-11 from three point territory, and 1-for-2 from the free throw line; he tallied six rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Omari DeVeaux contributed 15 points as he went 5-for-10 from the field, 1-for-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-4 from the free throw line; he recorded seven rebounds and eight assists.
Amari Moorer registered 15 points, going 6-for-11 from the field, 1-for-3 from three point territory, and 2-for-4 from the free throw line; he made nine rebounds and one steal.
The Hornets began the game with two three-pointers in the first four minutes of the game, but the Marlins fought back with layups to level the score at 6-6 with 15:47 on the clock. Play remained evenly contested with neither team gaining more than a four point lead until the Marlins went on a 5-0 run as
Amari Moorer made a three-pointer and layup to give VWU a 19-14 edge.
Lynchburg fought back, stringing together an 8-2 run between 9:07 and 5:04 to lead 26-21.
Malcolm Velmar responded with a three-pointer to bridge the gap to two. The Hornets dribbled down the court for a dunk, but
Amari Moorer followed up with a dunk of his own to keep the Marlins two away. In the final minutes of first half play, Lynchburg scored four to lead 32-26 at halftime.
The Marlins came out hot in the second half with three consecutive threes by
Khai Seargeant,
Paul Anderson, and Seargeant again, which pushed them ahead 35-32. Both teams exchanged baskets, and the score remained close until Seargeant and Anderson created another three pointer streak, giving the Marlins an eight point edge with 10:45 on the clock.
With less than eight minutes remaining,
Paul Anderson made a layup, giving VWU their largest lead of the game of 11 points. Lynchburg responded with a three to lessen the deficit to eight, and the Hornets continued to outscore the Marlins in the final minutes of the second half. A jumper by the Hornets with three seconds on the clock leveled the game at 59-59, forcing overtime to decide the winner.
VWU began overtime with a 5-0 run to put them ahead 64-59 with 3:33 remaining. The Hornets compiled a 5-2 run in response to inch just two points away from the Marlins, but
Omari DeVeaux and
Khai Seargeant found success in the paint with consecutive layups to lead the Hornets by six with 47 seconds on the clock. With few options left, Lynchburg began to foul, but the Marlins were too precise from the free throw line and clung onto their lead, winning 75-66.
The fourth seeded Marlins are set to host fifth seeded Guilford for the first round of the ODAC Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, February 26, at 7 p.m.
