SALISBURY, Md. – Despite a great, last-second three-point attempt to win at the buzzer by Jordan Oates, the Salisbury University men's basketball team dropped a back-and-forth thriller to the Lynchburg Hornets, 77-75, on Saturday.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both offenses were firing on all cylinders to start the game. With the score knotted at 12, Tharon Suggs drilled a three-pointer to put the Hornets up. Gary Briddell responded in the next possession with a three-pointer of his own to tie the game at 15 with 13:05 left in the first half.
• With the Sea Gulls up 21-20, Greg Bloodsworth stepped up and hit a three-point shot to put Salisbury up four. Lynchburg tied the game at 24 after a Miles Taylor midrange jumper and Jordan Parham stole the ball and drove it down the court for a dunk with 8:38 left in the first.
• The teams continued to trade baskets for the rest of the half. After Jordan Oates made a layup at the buzzer, the teams went into the halftime locker room with Lynchburg leading, 43-41.
• The Hornets came out of the locker room and defended their lead for the first five minutes of the half. With 14:38 on the clock, Sean Carr pulled up from the midrange and scored a basket to give the Sea Gulls a 55-54 lead.
• Ryan Marshall checked into the game with a Salisbury lead at 62-60 with just over 11 minutes left in the game. Marshall made his presence felt immediately by scoring the next nine points for the maroon and gold to help the Sea Gulls cap a 20-9 scoring run to take a 71-65 lead with just under five minutes left in the second.
• Lynchburg battled back to take the lead, 75-73, after two Suggs free throws. After a timeout by Salisbury, Marshall was able to drive in the paint and make a layup to tie it back up with 24 seconds left.
• Coming out of their last timeout, the Hornets drew up a play for Suggs, who shot a floater from the lane that bounced into the basket and gave Lynchburg the lead with just under two seconds left on the clock.
• After Salisbury's last timeout, Johnny Fierstein bombed an inbounds pass to Oates, who had a decent look at a game-winner but his three-point attempt bounced off the front iron to give Lynchburg the win.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jordan Oates registered his fourth double-double of the season. He scored 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting and grabbed 13 boards.
• Ryan Marshall came off the bench and scored a career-high 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half. He also added four rebounds and two assists to his line.
• Gary Briddell also scored 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Briddell also grabbed six rebounds and blocked the ball twice.
• Sean Carr also hit double figures with 10 points.
• Johnny Fierstein and Cameron Heard each dished out four assists. Fierstein added six rebounds and six points.
• Greg Bloodsworth netted seven points and secured three rebounds.
• Salisbury dominated the glass, outrebounding Lynchburg 42-29.
• Salisbury shot 43.5 percent from the field (30-for-59). The Sea Gulls also shot a season-best 91.7 percent from the charity stripe (11-of-12).

LYNCHBURG GAME NOTES

• T.C. Thacker also registered a double-double. He scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
• Tharon Suggs added 13 points and four rebounds.
• Jordan Parham came off the bench and scored 14 points, including going 4-for-6 from three-point range.
• The Hornets shot 50.8 percent during the game (30-for-59).

UP NEXT

• Salisbury will wrap up the 2021 home schedule with a matchup with the Rowan Profs on Friday, Dec. 17.
• Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Maggs Physical Activities Center.
• It is the annual holiday game with fans admitted for free.

Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 186 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.

To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.