Pettiford Hits Game-Winner to Beat #1 Va. Wesleyan

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DOVER, Del. – The Wesley College men's basketball team hung on to defeat  No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan, 72-70, on Thursday night at Wentworth Gymnasium.  The Wolverines (9-4) have now won four-straight games and six of its last seven while the Marlins fall to 7-2.

After holding a lead for most of the game, Wesley found itself trailing 67-66 with just under a minute left after Virginia Wesleyan embarked on a 15-4 run.  That all changed when Quincy Pettiford (six points, four rebounds), a native of Portsmouth, Va., which is just 45 minutes outside of Virginia Beach where Virginia Wesleyan College is located, hit a baseline jumper to give the Wolverines a 68-67 advantage with just 53 seconds left.

The Marlins, who were looking to push the ball on their ensuing possession, had their downcourt pass intercepted by David Langan near the endline and Langan saved the ball to Paul Reynolds.  Reynolds then dribbled around for several seconds before being fouled.  The native of Wilmington, Del., made the front half of the one-and-one, and sunk the second to increase the lead to three points with 23 ticks remaining. 

Virginia Wesleyan's Chris Astorga bricked a game-tying three-pointer which was rebounded by Wesley freshman Wayne Lennon.  Lennon was immediately fouled and he hit both shots from the stripe.  The Marlins cut the deficit to just a single basket on a trey by DJ Woodmore with 1.3 seconds remaining. 

After a Marlins timeout, Wesley turned the ball over under its own basket and Virginia Wesleyan's potential game-tying shot bounced off the rim as Wesley hung on for the victory.

Langan led Wesley with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting, to go with ten rebounds for his fourth-straight double-double.  Lennon, who got his first career start after scoring a career-high 10 points in Tuesday's win over Washington College, went for 12 points, five rebounds and three steals.

Reynolds and freshman Anthony Bowers also were huge for Wesley off the bench.  Reynolds had one of the most complete games of his career as he scored 11 points, to go with eight rebounds and a career-high eight assists.  Bowers scored a career-high 11 points and made all four of his free throws.

Eric Selby was his usual reliable self in his ball-handling role for the Wolverines as he tallied nine points with three assists.

Wesley outshot Virginia Wesleyan, 48.3% to 43.9% but the Marlins made ten shots from behind-the-arc to stay in the game.  The Wolverines also out-rebounded VWC, 39 to 26, and turned 11 offensive rebounds into 15 second-chance points.

Woodmore led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go with a team-high seven rebounds.  Astorga also scored 18 while Chris Teasley pitched in with 15.

In the Wolverines' final game in the 2012 calendar year, Wesley will host Fisher College (Mass.) on Saturday, December 22, at 2 pm. The Wolverines will also be at home on January 2, 2013, when they host Cabrini in a 5 pm tipoff.