College Men’s Basketball Final – Guilford 60, #2 Virginia Wesleyan 55

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Josh Pittman (Archdale, N.C./Trinity) scored 18 points and Will Freeman (Fort Wayne, Ind./Richmond Senior (N.C.)) added 16 in Guilford’s College’s 60-55 upset of second-ranked Virginia Wesleyan College Saturday afternoon in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) basketball game.

The Quakers (13-5, 6-2 ODAC) knocked off the streaking Marlins (13-2, 6-1 ODAC) almost a year to the day of a similar upset in 2011. Last year, Virginia Wesleyan rode into Guilford with a perfect 16-0 mark, but left on the short end of a 64-61 decision.

Virginia Wesleyan had the home court in this year’s meeting, but its 13-game winning streak ended Saturday thanks to Guilford’s excellent defense. The Marlins entered the game ranked 16th nationally in scoring average (85.1 ppg.), but managed 33.3 percent field-goal shooting and 55 points, both season lows. The victory marked Guilford coach Tom Palombo’s eighth in nine games against his alma mater.

The lead changed hands six times in the first half before Guilford scored the period’s final 10 points to take a 30-24 edge at the break. Chris Teasley’s traditional three-point play pulled the Marlins to within 39-37 midway through the second half, but Pittman drilled one of his three three-pointers, restoring a five-point Guilford cushion. D.J. Woodmore’s three-pointer got Virginia Wesleyan to within 55-52 with 1:38 left, but Freeman scored off his own miss at the other end, bumping the Quakers’ margin back to five.

Woodmore’s fifth and final three-pointer came with 28 seconds left to make it a 58-55 game, but Pittman sank two free throws at the other end. Woodmore’s three trifectas marked the Marlins’ lone field goals in the game’s final seven minutes, when Virginia Wesleyan shot just three-of-11 from the floor.

Freeman, a freshman, scored 10 of his points in the second half on five-of-six shooting and also made a career-high three steals. Teammate Gabriel Lowder (Yadkinville, N.C./North Forsyth) had three three-pointers and finished with 13 points and a key steal in the game’s final seconds. Brad Monroe (Asheboro, N.C./Eastern Randolph) led Guilford with eight rebounds and played a big role in the Quakers’ defensive effort.

Woodmore led all scorers with 26 points, 14 in the second half. Teasley finished with 11 and Donald Vaughn chipped in six points and a game-high nine rebounds. Vaughn was scoring over 13 points per game before today. Teammate Chris Astorga, who entered the game scoring 15.6 points per game, shot just two-of-13 from the floor and finished with seven.

Guilford hosts league-rival Randolph College Wednesday (1/25) at 7:00 p.m.

Guilford vs Virginia Wesleyan
01/21/12 2:00 p.m. at Virginia Beach, VA – The Batten Center

GUILFORD – 60
VIRGINIA WESLEYAN – 55

GUILFORD (13-5, 7-2 ODAC): PITTMAN, Josh 6-18 3-4 18; FREEMAN, Will 8-11 0-0 16; LOWDER, Gabriel 5-11 0-1 13; GIBBS, Kevin 2-3 1-1 5; SULLIVAN, Carson 1-5 1-2 3; McCARTHY, Matt 1-3 0-0 3; MONROE, Brad 1-1 0-0 2; STAFFORD, Justin 0-1 0-0 0; EFIRD, Gene 0-2 0-0 0; HINTON, Jarred 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 5-8 60.

VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (13-2, 6-1 ODAC): WOODMORE, DJ 10-18 1-3 26; TEASLEY, Chris 4-11 1-1 11; ASTORGA, Chris 2-13 2-3 7; VAUGHN, Donald 3-9 0-0 6; DAVIS, Rakeem 1-2 2-2 4; FORD, Tre’ 0-3 1-3 1; MONTGOMERY, Greg 0-0 0-0 0; BROWN, Ali 0-2 0-0 0; BURNS, Jason 0-2 0-0 0; CREW, Art 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-60 7-12 55.

   Guilford......................   30   30  -   60
   Virginia Wesleyan.............   24   31  -   55

3-point goals–Guilford 7-18 (PITTMAN, Josh 3-7; LOWDER, Gabriel 3-8; McCARTHY, Matt 1-2; SULLIVAN, Carson 0-1), Virginia Wesleyan 8-24 (WOODMORE, DJ 5-12; TEASLEY, Chris 2-5; ASTORGA, Chris 1-4; FORD, Tre’ 0-2; BURNS, Jason 0-1).
Fouled out–Guilford-None, Virginia Wesleyan-None.
Rebounds–Guilford 35 (MONROE, Brad 8), Virginia Wesleyan 40 (VAUGHN, Donald 9).
Assists–Guilford 5 (SULLIVAN, Carson 3), Virginia Wesleyan 14 (FORD, Tre’ 3; TEASLEY, Chris 3).
Total fouls–Guilford 13, Virginia Wesleyan 12.
Technical fouls–Guilford-None, Virginia Wesleyan-None.
A-910

Virginia Wesleyan is ranked 2nd in this week’s D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll