Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Contact: Chris Kilcoyne

 

Virginia Wesleyan Earns Top Seed in 2005-06 ODAC Men’s Basketball Tournament

 

SALEM, VA – In the midst of a 20-game winning streak, that has run its record to 17-1 in the ODAC and 22-3 overall, Virginia Wesleyan has earned the top seed in the 2005-06 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The Marlins will take on eighth-seeded Eastern Mennonite at 1:00 p.m. in the first of four quarterfinals Saturday at the Salem Civic Center . 

Defending champion VWC is led by junior Brandon Adair who leads the team with 18 points per game and close to seven rebounds.  The 6-foot-5 forward is second in the league in shooting percentage, making over 63 percent of his shots this season.

The Royals enter the tournament at 11-14 overall and 6-12 in the league.  Head Coach Kirby Dean’s crew is led by junior Jason Sager who is averaging over 17 points each time out.  His over nine rebounds a game is tops in the league.

Randolph-Macon finished the season 15-3 in the league and 20-5 overall to take the number-two seed in the tournament. Reigning ODAC Player-of-the-Year Justin Wansley leads RMC in scoring with 15 points a contest and is averaging better than eight rebounds a game. 

The Yellow Jackets will take on the Eagles of Bridgewater College on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.  Senior forward Clay Michael is averaging a team-best 16 points and eight rebounds a game for Bill Leatherman’s Eagles.  BC enters the tournament 9-15 overall and 6-12 in the ODAC.

Hampden-Sydney is the third-seed in the tournament after posting an 11-7 ODAC record and finishing 17-7 overall.  Troy Kaase patrols the paint for the Tigers and is averaging a team-best 17.4 points which ranks him in the top-five in the league.

HSC will take on sixth-seeded Roanoke who will enter the tournament with a record of 14-11 and 8-10 in the league.  RC is paced by senior guard Jared Butler who is scoring over 12 points a contest this season. The Tigers and the Maroons will close out quarterfinal Saturday with an 8:00 p.m. tip-off at the Salem Civic Center .

The top-two scoring teams in the ODAC will face off at 3:00 p.m. Saturday when fourth-seeded Guilford takes on fifth-seeded Emory Henry.

Guilford (12-13 / 10-8 ODAC) big man Ben Strong is tops in the ODAC is scoring, posting 18.7 points a game while pulling down over six rebounds a contest. 

The Wasps (14-11 / 10-8) enter the game averaging well over 100 points as a team which ranks them in the-top five in the nation.  In 2005-06, E&H’s wide open offense has set ODAC single season records for attempted and made three-point field goals.