D.J. Hinson (Newport News, Va./Menchville) sank a game tying three-pointer as time expired in the second half as the Eastern Mennonite University men's basketball team used that momentum to carry them to a 83-72 upset over Old Dominion Athletic Conference preseason #2 Virginia Wesleyan College Saturday night in Harrisonburg, Va.

EMU improves to 4-2 on the season and 1-0 in the ODAC. Virginia Wesleyan falls to an even 3-3, 0-1 in the conference. The last win over the Marlins by EMU was on February 4, 2004, when the Royals invaded the Batten Center in Norfolk, Va., and came out with a 73-69 win.

Virginia Wesleyan entered the game ranked 24th in the preseason D3Hoops.com Top 25 poll.

George Johnson (Richmond, Va./Miller School) poured in a career-high 22 points in over 40 minutes of play while Hinson added 20 points, three blocks, and a pair of steals off the bench.

Orie Pancione (Augusta, WVa./Hampshire) registered his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Austin Twine (Dublin, Va./Pulaski Co.) had another 11 points for EMU.

The Marlins were paced by a double-double from Stephen Fields with 16 points and 10 boards. Quinton McDuffie had 13 points and five rebounds for VWC in the loss.

Virginia Wesleyan never trailed in the first half as the Marlins went ahead by as much as seven points before closing out the half with a 30-29 lead. Fields, McDuffie, and Terrell Dixon each had a team leading six points in the frame.

Johnson started off the second half with a layup to put the Royals on top for the first time in the contest, 31-30. Virginia Wesleyan answered with a bucket from McDuffie as the two teams then locked in a battle for sole possession of the lead through the next five minutes. A three-pointer by Dixon keyed a 7-0 run for the Marlins that saw them take a 44-37 lead with 14:39 on the clock. VWC continued to keep EMU at an arms length as the seven point margin grew to 12 as the clock wound down to 7:44.

The Royals methodically chipped away at the lead, blending patience and their quick tempo offense to move to only four from tying the game with less than a minute remaining. Following a missed free-throw by Virginia Wesleyan, Johnson cut the deficit in half with a jumper from just outside the paint to make the score 64-62. Sean Rankin responded for the Marlins with a lay in with only 21 ticks left. Twine nailed both of his attempts from the charity stripe on the next Royal possession with Ed Roberts countering for the Marlins, hitting 1-of-2 from the free throw line. Down by three, Pancione in-bounded the ball to Johnson with nine seconds left. The sophomore guard advanced the ball down the court and found Hinson, two-feet outside the arc. Hinson turned, and fired the high arching shot over a VWC defender with the ball hitting nothing but the bottom of the net, sending the contest into overtime.

That huge burst of momentum then carried EMU throughout the overtime period as the Royals took a 72-69 lead in the third minute and never looked back. Hinson put the exclamation point on the win for EMU as he stole the ball at half-court, and then slammed home a one-handed dunk to put the Royals up five. The Marlins were unable to answer back as the EMU lead grew to double figures with Pancione hitting his final free throw attempt to close out the win.

Devon McRae (Altavista, Va./Altavista) had six points, and four rebounds for EMU.

Dixon finished with 12 points. Norman Hassell (11 points), and Julius Carlton (10 points) also reached double figures for the Marlins.

Lynchburg College heads to Harrisonburg, Va., on Wednesday, December 5, as the Royals close out the 2008 home portion of the schedule before Christmas break.