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Jason Rutschman nets a game-high 13 points
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Virginia Beach, VA -- In a tough defensive battle, host Virginia Wesleyan College took advantage of 23 WildCat turnovers as the Marlins posted a 51-35 win over visiting Randolph College Tuesday night in the first round of the ODAC Championship Tournament.
With the loss Randolph's season ends at 6-19. VWC improves to 14-12 overall and will advance to play #2 seeded Randolph-Macon College in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Points were tough to come by in the first half of the contest as the Marlins opened up a 12-5 lead with 11:04 remaining in the half after a layup from Stephen Fields. Randolph's Caleb Pearson would answer with a jumper to cut the deficit to 12-7 just one minute later. VWC would then take their biggest lead of the half at 21-11 after a Terrell Dixon layup with just over four minutes left. A trey from Timothy Clarke followed by a Pete Hamilton jumper would cut into the lead, as VWC would take a 23-16 lead to the break. Turnovers proved costly for the WildCats as VWC converted the miscues into 19 points.
In the second half, the WildCats were unable to mount any type of comeback, getting as close as 9 points. Foul trouble plague the WildCats leading rebounder Derrick Woods-Morrow the entire half, as the first-year forward would eventually foul out of the contest.
Leading the way offensively for Randolph was Jason Rutschman who finished with a game-high 13 points. He was the only WildCat to reach double figures in the contest. Pearson added seven points. Hamilton and Clarke were unable to find their shooting touch, combining to go 3-16 from the field.
Fields led the Marlins with 13 points, while Quinton McDuffie followed with 10 points and seven rebounds.
CONTACT: Vince Scalzo, Sports Information Director
