Balenga Sends No. 23 Virginia Wesleyan to a 69-66 Victory over Randolph-Macon

Saturday, February 16, 2008
Contact: Chris Kilcoyne
804.752.7387 / christopherkilcoyne@rmc.edu

Balenga Sends No. 23 Virginia Wesleyan to a 69-66 Victory over Randolph-Macon
(Click Here for Box Score)

ASHLAND, VA – Ton Ton Balenga drained a jump shot with nine seconds remaining to lift No. 23 Virginia Wesleyan College to a 69-66 victory over Randolph-Macon College Saturday night in ODAC Men’s Basketball action.

After Stephen Fields put VWC up 65-64 with 52 seconds remaining, R-MC’s Jeremy Dixon was fouled by the Marlins’ Norman Hassell and then made a pair of free-throws to put the Jackets up 66-65 with 33 seconds left.

Balenga then gave the Marlins the go ahead score when he nailed a fade away jumper over two R-MC defenders, putting VWC on top 67-66. After Justin Short’s jumper on R-MC’s ensuing possession misfired, Virginia Wesleyan’s Tyler Fantin converted a pair of free-throws to extend the Marlin lead to three. A mid-court three-point attempt by Short at the buzzer fell short, giving VWC the victory.

R-MC now stands at 18-5 overall and 12-4 in the ODAC. Dixon led the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 14 points, while Danny Jones put in 13 points for R-MC in the loss. The Jackets made 25-of-54 (46.3%) shots from the field on the night.

VWC was led by Fields who had 19 points off the bench to help his team improve its record to 19-5 overall and 13-4 in the league. Balenga scored 15 and Fantin finished with 12 for the Marlins, who made 22-of-56 (39.3%) shots on the night from the field and were 19-of-21 from the foul line.

Randolph-Macon will be back in action on Wednesday night when it travels to Harrisonburg, Virginia for a 7:00 p.m. ODAC game.

-Yellow Jackets-