SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University men's basketball team dropped another tight matchup, 88-85, to the Rowan Profs on Friday in the Maggs Physical Activities Center.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salisbury started the game on a 9-2 run capped off by back-to-back layups by Sean Carr with 17:51 left to play in the first.
• Rowan battled back and tied things up at 11 after Arian Azemi knocked down both of his free throws at the 14:31 mark.
• Both teams traded baskets for the next several minutes of the first half with multiple lead changes and the game tied four times. Marcellus Ross made a basket with 3:08 left to give the Profs the 38-36 lead. That sparked a 9-0 scoring run over the next minute for Rowan that was halted after Johnny Fierstein made a layup with 2:04 left to cut into the Rowan lead, 43-38.
• After the two teams traded a few more baskets, Connor Dickerson made a layup for Rowan with eight seconds left in the first half to send the Profs into the locker room with a 47-42 lead.
• The Sea Gulls came out of the locker room and quickly knotted the game up at 47 after Gary Briddell drove in for a layup and Greg Bloodsworth drilled a three a minute into the second half.
• Rowan got out to its biggest lead of the game, 61-53, with 15:11 left on the clock. Salisbury then battled back and took the 70-69 lead three minutes later after Briddell made a corner three-pointer with 11:29 left.
• The Profs pulled away again, going on a 12-3 scoring run to make it 81-73 with just under five minutes left to go. Fierstein got the offense going again for the Sea Gulls, drawing a foul and drilling two free throws. On the ensuing possession, Fierstein knocked down a three-point shot to trim the Rowan lead down to 83-78.
• The Sea Gulls managed to pull back to within a point with 19 seconds left after Fierstein grabbed an offensive board and went up strong to make a layup that made it, 86-85. The Sea Gulls fouled Ross, who made both of his free throws.
• On the final possession, Bloodsworth was able to get a decent look at tying it up, but the ball bounced off the front iron, giving the game its final score of 88-85.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jordan Oates recorded his second consecutive and fifth double-double of the season. He scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his efforts.
• Johnny Fierstein reeled in 13 rebounds and scored 11 points for his first double-double of the season. He also dished out four assists.
• Gary Briddell led the offense with 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting. The Salisbury native also grabbed three boards, dished out two assists and blocked the ball four times.
• Greg Bloodsworth scored a season-high 16 points and assisted on six different plays.
• Paul Garcia and Ryan Marshall each contributed seven points off the bench. Garcia also grabbed five rebounds and assisted four times.
• The Sea Gulls had a slight advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Profs, 50-47.
• Salisbury also held the slight advantage in shooting percentage, shooting 42.9 percent (30-for-70), compared to Rowan's 38.3 percent (31-for-81).

ROWAN GAME NOTES

• Marcellus Ross led the Profs with 19 points.
• Andrew Seager and Arian Azemi each scored 17 points.
• Hafeez Melvin scored 11 points off the bench for Rowan.
• Rowan won the turnover battle, 21-16, which resulted in them outscoring Salisbury 21-13 off turnovers.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. to participate in the Daytona Beach Shootout tournament. The Sea Gulls' first game is against the Rhodes Lynx on Sunday, Dec. 19.
• Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Ocean Center Convention Center.

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.