College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 71, Virginia Wesleyan 60

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Zachary Houston (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen’s) scored 10 of his career- and team-high 13 points in the second half of Guilford College’s 71-60 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball win over league-leading Virginia Wesleyan College.

The Marlins (17-6, 12-2 ODAC) entered the game ranked second in the latest NCAA Division III South Region rankings released earlier in the day. Guilford (15-9, 10-5 ODAC) ended Virginia Wesleyan’s five-game winning streak, but the Marlins retained their one-game lead in the ODAC standings as Lynchburg College moved into a share second place with Roanoke College by outlasting the Maroons, 150-145, in two overtimes Wednesday night.

Guilford’s win clinches a top-four position in the regular-season standings and a first-round bye in next week’s ODAC Tournament.

Virginia Wesleyan’s Khory Moore started the second-half scoring with a three-pointer, which opened a 32-27 Marlins’ lead. The basket also marked the hosts’ lone field goal for the next eight minutes and eight seconds as Guilford embarked on a decisive 19-1 run. The Quakers scored 19 straight points and limited Virginia Wesleyan to 0-for-7 field-goal shooting and forced six turnovers during the spurt.

Virginia Wesleyan tried to get back into the game and drew to within 66-60 on Moore’s fourth and final three-pointer of the night with 43 seconds left in regulation. The Quakers sealed the win at the free-throw line by making five-of-six shots.

Houston entered the game averaging four points per game and shooting 27.3 percent from three-point range, but the junior point guard knocked down two trifectas on back-to-back attempts in the final six minutes. Houston added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. He turned the ball over just once in 40 minutes. Alston Thompson (Durham, N.C./Durham Academy) notched his team-leading third double-double of the year with 12 points and a game-best 10 boards. Trevor Mayo (Greensboro, N.C./Greensboro Day School) also scored 12 and drained both three-point shots. The Quakers enjoyed a 52-29 rebounding edge, which included 23 offensive boards that resulted in 25 second-chance points. Virginia Wesleyan had just nine such points.

Moore’s 20 points and six rebounds paced the home team. Tim Jones was the only other Marlin in double-figures with 19 and also had four steals.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers close the regular season Saturday (2/20) at Eastern Mennonite University.

Guilford vs Virginia Wesleyan
2/17/16 7 p.m. at Batten Center/Virginia Beach, Va.

GUILFORD 71
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 60

GUILFORD (15-9/10-5): HOUSTON, Zachary 5-10 1-3 13; MAYO, Trevor 5-10 0-0 12; THOMPSON, Alston
4-12 4-6 12; LONG, Carson 3-8 0-0 8; BRYANT, John 3-3 2-2 8; FREEMAN, Will 2-9 2-7 6; HENDERSON, Dominique 2-6 2-5 6; HYATT, Trever 2-5 1-2 5; ROGERS, Jarrod 0-2 1-2 1; BEST, Justen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-66 13-27 71.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (17-7/12-3): MOORE, Khory 7-15 2-2 20; JONES, Tim 6-15 4-4 19; STURDIFEN, Aaron 4-5 0-0 8; BARNETTE, Khalil 2-2 0-0 6; BROWN, Daevon 2-3 0-2 4; WATSON, Justin 0-5 2-2 2; POE, Kaelin 0-3 1-2 1; WHITE JR., Corey 0-1 0-0 0; PATTERSON, C.J. 0-0 0-0 0; DOYLE, Nick 0-2 0-0 0; HONORE, Keijon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-53 9-12 60.

Guilford......................   27   44  -   71
Virginia Wesleyan.............   29   31  -   60

3-point goals–Guilford 6-14 (LONG, Carson 2-3; MAYO, Trevor 2-2; HOUSTON, Zachary 2-4; HENDERSON, Dominique 0-3; HYATT, Trever 0-2), Virginia Wesleyan 9-27 (MOORE, Khory 4-11; JONES, Tim 3-6; BARNETTE, Khalil 2-2; WATSON, Justin 0-4; DOYLE, Nick 0-2; HONORE, Keijon 0-2).
Fouled out–Guilford-None, Virginia Wesleyan-POE, Kaelin.
Rebounds–Guilford 52 (THOMPSON, Alston 10), Virginia Wesleyan 29 (MOORE, Khory 6).
Assists–Guilford 11 (HOUSTON, Zachary 4), Virginia Wesleyan 13 (WATSON, Justin 3; BARNETTE, Khalil 3; JONES, Tim 3).
Total fouls–Guilford 15, Virginia Wesleyan 24.
Technical fouls–Guilford-None, Virginia Wesleyan-None.
A-712