Virginia Wesleyan Wins ECAC Men's Basketball Championship
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - Virginia Wesleyan University claimed the ECAC Men’s Basketball Championship Saturday with a 74-50 win over Salisbury University. The Marlins won the title on their home court at TowneBank Arena in Virginia Beach, Va., their first ECAC championship in program history.
The Marlins raced out of the gates. An Amarion Wilson layup gave Virginia Wesleyan a 15-4 lead through five minutes of play. Five of those points came courtesy of Amari Moorer, the Marlins’ second-leading scorer who came in averaging 12.3 points per game.
Salisbury responded courtesy of its leading scorer. Jordan Oates, who averages 17.6 points per contest, cut into Virginia Wesleyan’s lead with two consecutive triples, slashing the Sea Gulls’ deficit to five. Oates scored eight of Salisbury’s first 10 points.
The Marlins scored six of the next seven points to extend their lead to 21-11 midway through the opening half. Moorer continued to lead the way with seven points. Virginia Wesleyan’s leading scorer Omari DeVeaux matched his teammate with seven of the team’s first 21 points. DeVeaux posted 14.1 tallies per game across the season.
Salisbury cut it to a 21-16 margin thanks in part to another Oates three pointer, but Khai Seargeant answered for Virginia Wesleyan with a pair of triples of his own. The junior, a 37 percent shooter from distance, put his team up 27-17, with nine of those points coming on Seargeant long balls.
The Sea Gulls answered with an 8-3 run to make it a 30-25 game with less than two minutes to play in the first half. A DeVeaux three-point play extended the Marlins’ lead to 33-25 and gave the senior a game-high 13 points. Salisbury tacked on one more before the break, sending Virginia Wesleyan into halftime with a 33-26 advantage.
The Sea Gulls, who never led in the first half, shot 40 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes and were 4-for-7 from distance. The Marlins, meanwhile, shot just 34 percent from the floor and were 6-for-22 on three pointers. Rebounds were close, with Virginia Wesleyan holding a 20-18 advantage. The big difference came in the turnover department. The Sea Gulls coughed it up six times, leading to six Marlins points. Virginia Wesleyan turned it over just once in the first half.
At the start of the second half, Virginia Wesleyan ballooned its lead to 12 points after six minutes. A 13-8 run saw the Marlins take a 46-34 lead. Six of those first 13 in the half came from DeVeaux, putting him up to 19 points. Seargeant nailed another three, giving the junior four triples and 12 points.
The Marlins stretched their lead to 17 at the 11:10 mark of the second half, their largest of the game to that point. DeVeaux crossed the 20-point mark with a pair of free throws, his seventh such contest this year-including each of his three in the ECAC Tournament.
Forced turnovers continued to be key for Virginia Wesleyan. Salisbury gave it up seven times in the first 14 minutes of the second half, leading to 10 Marlins points. With six minutes to play, Virginia Wesleyan increased its lead to 63-42.
The Marlins kept their foot on the gas, building their lead to as many as 27 before eventually triumphing 74-50.
DeVeaux led all scorers with 26 points, Seargeant finished second on the Marlins with 18, including five made three-pointers. Salisbury closed with 15 turnovers, off of which Virginia Wesleyan scored 18 points. The Marlins turned it over just five times, leading to only two Sea Gulls points. Virginia Wesleyan shot 43 percent from the field, and attempted 18 more field goals than Salisbury, who shot it at a 40 percent clip.
The ECAC Tournament champion Marlins finished the season with a record of 22-7. The Sea Gulls, meanwhile, ended with an 18-11 mark.