Posted: Jan 19, 2013
The Maroons took, then #2 ranked, Virginia Wesleyan to the limit back on November 28, 2012, leading for over half of the contest, but lost 73-67 in Virginia Beach.
Almost mirroring their totals from the previous meeting, Julian Ramirez and Kwasi Amponsah were top scorers for the Maroons. Ramirez finished the contest with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Amponsah had 21 points four rebounds and two assists. Daniel Eacho picked up his third double-double of the season, putting up 16 points and pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds.
Virginia Wesleyan took the early lead, starting with a 4-0 advantage after a basket by Tre' Ford and free throws from DJ Woodmore. Julian Ramirez got the fire going for Roanoke, knocking down a layup and a Trey to put the Maroons ahead 5-4 at the 16:58 mark. Those five points were followed by a 15-4 run by the Maroons that saw five different Roanoke players score, putting the Maroons up by 12, 20-8.
The Marlins spurred a 12-0 run of their own, including eight points from Trent Baston. With 7:01 to play in the first half, the Marlins tied the game at 20-20 with two free throws from Ford. Thirty seconds later, Batson knocked down a three to give Virginia Weslyan the 23-20 lead.
At the 4:00 mark, Cameron Smith dropped in a layup to give Roanoke the lead again, 24-23. The final basket in the half came as a deep three-pointer by Stefan Vulevic to send the Maroons to the locker room with a 36-30 advantage.
At the half, Ramirez led the Maroons with 13 points, shooting 5-9 from the field. He was followed in scoring by three RC players with six points each: Daniel Eacho, Stefan Vulevic and Cameron Smith. Eacho also led the team with six rebounds. For the Marlins, Baston topped the team with 10 points, while Woodmore led with five rebounds.
The Maroons continued their momentum into the second half, as they extended their lead to as many as 11, with Amponsah knocking down a trey to put Roanoke up 48-37 with 16:41 to play. After a Marlin made basket, Amponsah hit another jumper, putting Roanoke up by 12, 50-38. Ramirez hit back to back two-pointers, followed by six points from Amponsah to put Roanoke up by 18, 62-44 with 12:34 on the clock.
Over the next six minutes, the Marlins went on a 26-11 run, pulling Virginia Wesleyan within three, 73-70 with six minutes to play. Woodmore knocked down a jumper with 3:13 on the clock to tie the game at 75-75. Chris Teasley put in a layup to give Wesleyan its first lead of the second half, 77-75, with 2:39 to play. The teams traded baskets over the next four possessions, but a Teasley free throw gave Virginia Wesleyan the final lead of the game at 80-79. The Marlins knocked down free throws down the stretch to secure the 89-82 victory over Roanoke.
Teasley and Ford led the Marlins in scoring, posting 19 points each. Woodmore finished the game with 18 points and eight rebounds. Chris Astorga also finished in double digits with 12 points and seven rebounds. Colby Heard also pulled down a team high eight rebounds on the afternoon.
Roanoke outshot Virginia Wesleyan 47-43 percent from the field and 44-38 percent from behind the arc. The Maroons also held the advantage in rebounds, 46-38. The Marlins topped Roanoke in Blocks (5-2) and steals (10-5).
The Maroons return to action on Wednesday, January 23rd as they play host to Emory & Henry in the Bast Center. That contest is scheduled for a 7:00 PM tip-off.
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