The #1 Seed Virginia Wesleyan University men's basketball team (20-7, 12-4 ODAC) defeated the #8 Seed Franciscan 73-51 in Round One of the ECAC Championship Tournament.
Omari DeVeaux led the Marlins with 20 points shooting 7-for-12 from the field, and 4-for7 from beyond the arc; he tallied a team-high eight steals, had four rebounds, and one assist.
Amari Moorer recorded 14 points, shooting 6-for-10 from the field, 2-for-2 from the free throw line; five rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal.
Khai Seargeant scored 12 points shooting 4-for-9 from the field, 1-for-3 from deep, 4-for-6 from the free throw line, and had two rebounds.
The Barons made a three to start the game, but the Marlins responded with a 10-0 run to lead 10-3. Franciscan made a free throw to bring the score to 10-4. The Marlins quickly responded with a three from
Khai Seargeant that sparked a 5-0 run to lead 15-4 at the 10:36 mark in the first half.
Franciscan slowly started to gain momentum as they outscored the Marlins 6-4 over the next three minutes to bring the score to 19-10. However, Virginia Wesleyan responded with a 10-2 run to lead 29-12 at the 4:14 mark. VWU continued its dominance the rest of the half and went into halftime with a 34-20 lead.
Virginia Wesleyan came out of the break on a mission, as they went on a 12-4 run to lead 46-24 at the 16:28 mark led by
Omari DeVeaux who scored eight points, including back-to-back three-pointers. The Marlins continued their good run of play and outscored the Barons 12-9 over the next six minutes to lead 58-33. VWU played well the rest of the half and sealed the 73-51 win to secure their spot into the semifinals of the ODAC Championship Tournament.
