For Immediate Release December 4, 1999
Late Game Surge Lift Maroons To Win
RC Outscores VWC 42-12 in Final 14 Minutes to Take 93-72 Win
Roanoke vs. Virginia Wesleyan Box Score
SALEM, VA--Jason Strickland (Charlottesville, VA/Covenant) recorded his first double-double of the season to lead the Roanoke College men’s basketball team to a 93-72 victory over Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon in Salem, VA. The Maroons improve to 5-1 with the victory and 2-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Virginia Wesleyan falls to 1-5 on the year, 0-2 in league action and see its three-game winning streak over the Maroons come to an end. Down by nine points (60-51) with 13:53 remaining in the game, the Maroons outscored VWC 42-12 the rest of the way making the final score 93-72. During the Maroons’ run during the final 13:53 of the game, Virginia Wesleyan was able to make just three field goals and five free throws The Marlins had taken the lead in the early stages of the second half after Roanoke held the halftime advantage 43-40.
Strickland led the Maroons in scoring for the fifth time in six games this season, scoring his 20 points in 30 minutes of action. The junior also had a game and career-high 15 rebounds in the victory, which was Roanoke’s first over VWC since the early part of the 1997-98 campaign.
The Maroons also got double-digit scoring efforts from four other players. Ben Halterman (Fort Defiance, VA/Fort Defiance) tossed in a career-high 15 points in the win, knocking down all four of his three-point attempts. Halterman also had a career-best six rebounds in the game. Brad Dunleavy (Roanoke, VA/William Fleming) chipped in 13, Colby Leftwich (Roanoke, VA/Patrick Henry) 12, and Alex Phillips (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) 11.
Dunleavy was a key component in Roanoke’s surge to end the game, as nine of his 13 markers came during that stretch. His two consecutive layups, one of which resulted in a three-point play, with about three minutes left in the game, pushed the RC lead into double-digits.
The Marlins held the lead in the opening stages of the first half (8-7), but the Maroons controlled much of the half, jumping out to as much as a 12-point lead in the first period of play. The Marlins, behind the efforts of their leading scorer Tim Petrillo, slowly fought their way back into the game, closing the gap to three at the break. Petrillo ended the contest with 18 points and six assists, while Osman Bangura added 17 and Ron Yuhasz 14.
Roanoke hosts Lynchburg College at 7:00 pm on Monday night in another ODAC contest.