College Men’s Basketball Final – #10 Va. Wesleyan 61, Guilford 51 (ODAC Tournament Semifinal)

SALEM, Va. – Virginia Wesleyan College held Guilford College without a field goal for over 11 minutes in the second half of Saturday’s 61-51 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinal victory.

With its 10th win in 11 games, the second-seeded and 10th-ranked Marlins (23-4) earned a trip to Sunday’s ODAC Tournament final against top-ranked and top-seeded Randolph-Macon College, which downed Eastern Mennonite University, 67-57, for its 22nd straight victory.

Guilford’s Trever Hyatt scored 17 of his game- and season-high 23 points in the first half. His fifth three-pointer of the first half came at the buzzer and sent the Quakers (18-9) into the halftime locker room with a 29-26 edge.

The Quakers’ Matt McCarthy, the ODAC’s Player of the Year, scored just two first-half points but made two three-pointers early in the second half, which gave Guilford a 39-34 lead with 16 minutes to play. The Marlins answered with three-pointers by Cameron Owens and Breven Lyons that gave Virginia Wesleyan a one-point edge less than two minutes later. Guilford’s Cole Greene drained a three-pointer with 13:02 left in the contest for a 42-40 Quakers’ lead, but it proved their last field goal for the next 11 minutes and 23 seconds.

Solid defense and the occasional free throws helped Guilford (18-9) stay in the game. The Quakers trailed by three with 4:50 after two Jonny Rice free throws, but the Marlins scored on their next four trips down the floor in an 8-0 run, which opened an 11-point spread. Hyatt finally ended the Quakers’ field-goal draught with a layup, which made it a 58-49 game with 1:39 seconds to play. Guilford drew no closer.

Brandon Mitchell led Virginia Wesleyan with 13 points off the bench and fellow reserve Nick Doyle added 12, including nine in the second half. First Team All-ODAC pick Khory Moore scored 10 points and added six rebounds and three assists. The Marlins turned the ball over just five times and forced 17 Quakers’ miscues that led to 12 Virginia Wesleyan points. Keyed by Mitchell and Doyle, the Marlins held a 31-9 bench scoring edge.

Hyatt, who made five three-pointers, was the lone Quaker in double-figure scoring. McCarthy finished with eight points and Rice contributed nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Guilford vs Virginia Wesleyan
02/28/15 3:10 PM at Salem, VA – Salem Civic Center
At Salem, VA – Salem Civic Center

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 61
GUILFORD 51

GUILFORD (18-9): HYATT, Trever 9-20 0-0 23; RICE, Jonny 3-9 3-4 9; McCARTHY, Matt 3-14 0-0 8; FREEMAN, Will 1-3 2-2 4; GREENE, Cole 1-1 0-0 3; ROGERS, Jarrod 1-2 0-0 2; KOPPENHAVER, Will 1-3 0-0 2; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-1 0-0 0; HINTON, Jarred 0-1 0-0 0; ROHS, Sanders 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-55 5-6 51.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (23-4): MITCHELL, Brandon 6-8 1-2 13; DOYLE, Nick 5-7 0-0 12; MOORE, Khory 2-11 5-6 10; JONES, Tim 3-9 0-0 7; LYONS, Breven 2-9 0-1 6; OWENS, Cameron 1-9 2-2 5; MONTGOMERY, Greg 2-5 1-2 5; POE, Kaelin 1-3 1-3 3; THOMAS, Tyrell 0-0 0-0 0; BANKS, Andre’ 0-0 0-0 0; BYNUM, Nick 0-0 0-0 0; BARNETTE, Khalil 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 10-16 61.

Guilford......................   29   22  -   51
Virginia Wesleyan.............   26   35  -   61

3-point goals–Guilford 8-31 (HYATT, Trever 5-14; McCARTHY, Matt 2-12; GREENE, Cole 1-1; HOUSTON, Zachary 0-1; HINTON, Jarred 0-1; ROHS, Sanders 0-1; RICE, Jonny 0-1), Virginia Wesleyan 7-27 (LYONS, Breven 2-7; DOYLE, Nick 2-4; OWENS, Cameron 1-5; JONES, Tim 1-4; MOORE, Khory 1-7).
Fouled out–Guilford-RICE, Jonny, Virginia Wesleyan-None.
Rebounds–Guilford 43 (RICE, Jonny 14), Virginia Wesleyan 35 (LYONS, Breven 6; MOORE, Khory 6). Assists–Guilford 8 (McCARTHY, Matt 3; HOUSTON, Zachary 3), Virginia Wesleyan 9 (MOORE, Khory 3; LYONS, Breven 3).
Total fouls–Guilford 17, Virginia Wesleyan 10.
Technical fouls–Guilford-TEAM, Virginia Wesleyan-None.
A-455
ODAC Men’s Basketball Tournament
Game 10 – #2 VWC vs. #3 GC
VWC is ranked 10th in this week’s D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll.