VWC, CNU to meet in NCAA tournament

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - You can bet the Batten Center will be even louder then it was Saturday night for the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Virginia Wesleyan always gets a great crowd for their NCAA tournament game.  All but 5 players on the Marlins roster are from Hampton Roads high schools.

The Marlins last loss at home came in late January to Randalph-Macon, but the seniors on this year's team said it's all about the finish.

"It's been a crazy ride this year we had a lot of ups and downs with all the winning streaks and losing streaks. It's the first time we've had a losing streak, but I think it actually helped us," said Virginia Wesleyan senior Chris Astorga.

Just over a month ago CNU's athletic program lost their long time basketball coach C.J. Woollum. He passed away after losing his life to brain cancer. This year's team has been playing great on the court that's named after Woollum.

Coach Jon Krikorian's team finished the season 12-2 at the Freeman Center. In the opening game of the NCAA tournament CNU players wore a black patch to honor Woollum. Christopher Newport easily beat Rutgers-Newark Saturday 84-72. Ironically, VWC handed the captains one of  their two home losses this season.

Time for a little pay back perhaps? Tip-off is set for 7p.m. next Saturday.