SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University men's basketball team notched its second win of the season on Saturday night as the Sea Gulls defeated Messiah College, 81-73, in the final game of the 2008 Optimist Classic in front of a crowd of 235 at the Maggs Center. Salisbury (2-7) scored the game's first bucket and led wire-to-wire in the game as Messiah (2-6) never tied the game or took a lead of its own.

SU was led by junior Devin Jones who recorded a game-high 20 points and team-highs for rebounds (seven) and assists (five). The co-captain guard was 7-for-8 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range. SU was strong in the front court as the maroon and gold received big games from sophomore center Chris McGrew (16 points, three rebounds) and sophomore forward Ryan Hourihan (11 points).

SU junior co-captain Greg Palmer was the Sea Gull representative on the all-tournament team as the guard scored 17 points, four rebounds and made three steals in the win. It was the second consecutive night Palmer tallied double-digit points, as he recorded a double-double (20 points, 13 rebounds) in Friday night's loss to Albright College. Palmer notched 37 points and 17 rebounds in the two-day classic.

The Sea Gulls came out of the gates strong and would take a 12-point lead, 29-17, at the 8:48 mark on a three-pointer by senior guard Sean Whittaker. The two teams traded buckets on several possessions before Messiah came alive and used a 12-5 run to end the half. The spurt cut Salisbury's lead to only three points, 45-42, at intermission.

In the second half, Messiah cut the Salisbury lead to one point on four different occasions in the first five minutes of the second half but never took the lead. The Sea Gulls would use a 14-3 spurt in the middle of the half to extend their lead to 12 points, 65-53, with 8:28 left in the game.

Messiah battled back as the Falcons poured in 11 points over the next four minutes to cut the SU lead to four, 68-64, with over four minutes left in the second half. Messiah's steam would run out after Hourihan made a three-point play after being fouled on a layup. The Sea Gulls pulled away in the final two minutes as the maroon and gold scored nine points to close out the contest.

The Falcons were led by Andy Hawk's double-double (13 points, 12 rebounds). Tyler Ritzman (16 points, two steals) and Jamie Yoder (nine points, four assists) were solid on offense for Messiah. Guard Jason Miller (eight points, six assists, three rebounds and three assists) was named to the all-tournament for Messiah.

Salisbury shot 67 percent (8-for-12) from three-point range while Messiah was over 40 percent (11-for-27). The two teams were fairly even on the boards as SU held a slight 34-33 advantage in rebounds. SU and Messiah were a combined 37-for-48 (77 percent) from the free-throw line.

In the first Saturday men's basketball game, Albright defeated Randolph College, 77-57. The two all-tournament selections from those teams include Albright's Andrew Pomager and Randolph's Jason Rutschman.

Salisbury will next face Capital Athletic Conference foe York (Pa.) College on Tuesday, December 9, at 8 p.m. in the Maggs Center. This will be Salisbury's last game for the month of December.

2008 Optimist Classic - Men's Basketball

Saturday, December 6
Salisbury 81, Messiah 73- Box Score
Albright 77, Randolph 57 - Box Score

Friday, December 5
Albright 86, Salisbury 76 - Box Score
Messiah 63, Randolph 61 (OT) - Box Score 

All-Tournament Team
Albright: Andrew Pomager
Messiah: Jason Miller
Randolph: Jason Rutschman
Salisbury: Greg Palmer