Virginia Wesleyan wins on Balenga's final shot

The Marlins defeated Wittenberg 59-56 for the championship.
SALEM, Va. (AP) -- TonTon Balenga wasn't Virginia Wesleyan coach Dave Macedo's first choice to take the biggest shot of the season for the Marlins.
But when Plan A failed, Balenga was a more than willing Plan B.
Balenga made a 3-pointer from the top of the key with two seconds remaining Saturday, giving the Marlins their only lead of the game -- and the NCAA Division III national championship -- with a 59-56 victory against Wittenberg.
"It was just a great feeling," Balenga said after the shot held up, extending the Marlins' winning streak to 28 games and sweetening their first championship appearance.
Wittenberg coach Bill Brown said the critical play came down to solid defense and a great play by Balenga to suddenly get into the open.
"I thought we had it defended very well before the shot," Brown said. "All of a sudden he had some separation from our defensive players."
Balenga stole the ball and hit a layup with 1:57 remaining that allowed Virginia Wesleyan (30-3) to tie the score for the first time at 52.
Marlin's top scorers
Balenga led the Virginia Wesleyan with 22 points. Brandon Adair added 21 points for the Marlins, and was the intended shooter when the play was drawn up.
"When he wasn't open they wanted to swing the ball to me," Balenga, a sophomore, said. "Tyler [Fantin] set the best screen I ever got in my life."
The Tigers took the lead back at 54-52 on two foul shots by Dane Borchers with 1:30 remaining, but the Marlins tied it again on Adair's layup. Borchers then hit a layup, and Adair hit two foul shots to tie it at 56 with 49 seconds remaining.
The Tigers, in their fourth title game, never relinquished the lead until Balenga hit his game-winner after the Marlins gained possession on a turnover by Daniel Russ.
"I just hesitated and shuffled my feet," Russ said.
Borchers led the Tigers (30-4) with 15 points, while Russ had 14 and Kenny Brady 13.
Wittenberg led 29-19 at the half and 43-33 with 10:05 remaining, then Balenga hit two layups in a row.
The Tigers shot nearly 48 percent for the game. While the Marlins finished with 43 percent, after hitting only 6-of-23 shots in the first half (26 percent).
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