Box Score 

WAYNE, N.J. – Six Marlins were in double figures in scoring as No. 9 Virginia Wesleyan (24-5) pulled away from John Carroll (20-7) for a 101-86 victory in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament March 6 at William Paterson University's Recreation Center.
 
VWC advances to play host William Paterson (21-7, 13-5 NJAC) in the second round Saturday, March 7, at WP at 7:00 p.m. The Pioneers defeated SUNY Cobleskill (17-11, 13-4 NEAC) in the other first-round game, 80-54.
 
Senior guard Breven Lyons and sophomore guards Tim Jones and Khory Moore each scored 18 points for Virginia Wesleyan. Moore added 10 rebounds, while sophomore forward Kaelin Poe contributed 14 tallies and a game-best 13 boards. Senior forward Cameron Owens finished with 14 points and senior guard/forward Greg Montgomery had 11.
 
Junior guard Ryan Farragher paced John Carroll with 14 points. Senior guard David Hendrickson and junior guard Will Starks each scored 12 tallies, sophomore guard David Linane collected 11 points and senior forward Jake Hollinger added 10 tallies and a team-best seven rebounds.
 
Moore scored seven early points as the Marlins jumped out an early 20-9 lead just 6:18 into the contest, but a 7-1 Blue Streak run later in the half cut the margin to four (46-42, 3:20). A pair of Danny Wallack free throws made it a two-point contest 31 seconds later, but back-to-back Lyons three-pointers ignited an 11-3 burst to end the period, sending VWC into the locker room with a 57-47 edge. Lyons led all first half-scorers with 15 tallies as Virginia Wesleyan shot a sizzling 52.5 (21-40) percent from the field and 64.7 (11-17) percent from beyond the arc.
 
An 11-1 JCU burst early in the second half culminated with a Tony Vuyancih three-pointer and a tied ball game at 62-62 with 16:05 remaining. Nine lead changes and six ties marked the game's next seven and a half minutes as both teams fought to take control of the contest, and Jones' layup finally ignited an 11-2 run by Virginia Wesleyan, making it an 87-78 Marlin advantage with 5:30 on the clock. From there, VWC was able to pull away, snuffing out a final John Carroll comeback attempt with five unanswered tallies for a 13-point lead during the closing minutes (97-84, 1:06).
 
Virginia Wesleyan cooled off during the second half, going 13-for-37 (.351) overall and 4-for-14 (.286) from beyond the arc. Despite a 21-12 turnover disadvantage, John Carroll owned an 18-13 edge in points scored off the miscues.