By Taylor Chitwood, Sports Info. Student Assistant

SALEM, Virginia -- The Ferrum College men's basketball team came up short down the stretch, falling to the #2-seed, Virginia Wesleyan University, 71-62, inside the Salem Civic Center in the quarterfinals of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament. This marks the end of the 2019-20 campaign for Head Coach Tyler Sanborn's squad. Ferrum reached the ODAC Tournament for the first time in its second season of league play.

RECORDS
Ferrum (14-12)
Virginia Wesleyan (22-4)

THE BASICS
The Marlins used an 12-5 run to start the game and take the early advantage. Ferrum would answer right back as a James Smith Jr. trey brought the Panthers within one, 19-18. Rashad Reed would then put the Panthers up with a three of his own, making it a 26-25 ball game. Coach Sanborn's team would head into the locker room with the 34-33 advantage at the half.

Smith Jr. led the way for the Panthers in the first half, recording 14 points. Reed was the next closest Panther with seven and Kajuan Madden-McAfee followed with six. Marcus Plair had a strong half as well, scoring four points and chasing down five boards. On the other side, it was Daniel Spencer leading the way for the Marlins. Spencer matched Smith Jr.'s output of 14 points and added six rebounds to his line. Tim Fisher was in foul trouble early, but he was able to amass four points and five rebounds.

The second half was played evenly throughout, with the final five minutes proving to be the deciding factor. The turning point was Plair picking up his fifth foul, leaving the Panthers under-sized the rest of the way. Madden-McAfee's layup cut it to a four-point game with 4:50 to play, but the Marlins would then outscore Ferrum 8-3 the rest of the way, clinching a spot in Saturday's semifinal. 

It was the three-headed monster of Spencer, Fisher, and Percy Burt that led the way for the Marlins in the closing stanza. Spencer was held to just five points, but chased down six rebounds. Fisher came alive in the second half, recording 10 points and nine rebounds. Burt had a strong half as well, scoring nine points and adding six rebounds. For the Panthers, Madden-McAfee led the way with 11 points and five boards. Rashad Reed added seven points and Smith Jr. added nine, but in the end it was not enough for the Panthers to keep their season alive.

KEY STATS
Ferrum: Smith Jr. 23 pts; Madden-McAfee 17 pts, 10 reb; Reed 14 pts
VWU: Spencer 19 pts, 12 reb; Fisher 14 pts, 10 reb; Burt 13 pts, 11 reb

UP NEXT
Head Coach Tyler Sanborn's team closes its season with the loss. Reed, who closed his career #6 on Ferrum's all-time scoring list, is the only graduating senior from the team, marking four of five potential starters set to return for the 2020-21 campaign.