VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Salisbury University men's basketball team suffered a 67-63 setback to No. 10 Virginia Wesleyan College on Monday night in the opening contest of the 2010-11 season for both teams.

The Sea Gulls (0-1) got off to a great start in the contest, as they tallied the first four points on a pair of made jump shots by senior center Chris McGrew. The Marlins (1-0) battled back and took a 7-6 lead at the 17:28 mark. Virginia Wesleyan would hold that lead until the 11:59 mark, when a layup by junior forward Mike Maczko gave Salisbury a 19-17 lead. Over the last portion of the first stanza, the game would get knotted up four different times and featured three lead changes with the Marlins holding a 33-29 lead at the halftime break.

The Marlins' offense would come alive early in the second half, as they went on a 17-11 run in the first eight minutes of the stanza to take a 50-40 lead. Virginia Wesleyan was able to build off that lead for most of the second frame, as the Marlins extended the lead to as many as 14 points with 8:43 remaining in the half. The Sea Gulls worked hard over the last several minutes and managed to get the lead down to just four points at 66-62 with 2:37 remaining. Neither team would tally another field goal in the contest, but each team would convert a free-throw attempt to bring the score to its final at 67-63.

McGrew led the charge for the Sea Gulls with a game-high 19 points and finished with seven rebounds and two assists. Maczko scored 11 points and brought down seven rebounds, tying McGrew for the team-high in rebounds. Senior guard Eric Johnson put in a solid effort for the maroon and gold as he scored nine points, racked up six rebounds and handed out three assists.

The Marlins were led by Chris Teasley who tallied a team-high 16 points in the contest. Donald Vaughn finished with a team-high eight rebounds and scored 11 points for the Marlins.

The Sea Gulls will be back in action this Friday at the Juniata College Tournament where they will take on Montclair State University at 5:30 pm.