VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Salisbury University men's basketball team stumbled in its 2023-24 opener, falling to the Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan by a 68-56 score at TowneBank Arena in Virginia Beach, Va. on Friday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Marlins wasted no time finding the basket, opening the contest with an 8-0 run spanning nearly three and a half minutes. Calvin Thomas scored the first points of the season with a put-back layup after an offensive rebound, shortly followed by a jumper from Leroy Hamilton and a three-pointer from Brendan Davis to help cut the lead to three, 10-7.
• The sides traded baskets over the ensuing minutes, with a Jordan Oates layup slicing the VWU lead to one, 16-15 with 9:09 to go in the half. The Marlins responded with an 11-2 run that ballooned the margin to 10, 27-17 with 5:45 left.
• Salisbury responded with an eight-point run of their own to bring the gap back down to two, 27-25. VWU narrowly outscored the Sea Gulls throughout the rest of the half, 11-8, to take a 38-33 lead into the intermission.
• SU and VWU alternated buckets to open the second half, with the Marlin lead seesawing between three and five points until the 12:33 mark, when the hosts went ahead by six, 49-43.
• Oates helped keep Salisbury within striking distance, scoring eight second-half points, but the Marlins used a 14-5 run in the final 6:46 to seal the 68-56 final score.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Jordan Oates starred in the opener, securing a double-double with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 11 rebounds.
• Cameron Heard finished with nine points and six rebounds.
• Calvin Thomas tallied eight points and seven rebounds in his Sea Gull debut.
• Buddah Spencer swiped five steals and added four points on the night.
• The Sea Gulls shot 46 percent (23-of-50) from the floor, highlighted by a crisp 54.5 percent (12-of-22) in the first half. SU shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and 6-of-15 from the free-throw line.

VWU GAME NOTES

• Amarion Wilson finished with a team-high 18 points, making nine of his 12 attempts from the field. Wilson also added four rebounds and four steals.
• Eric Rowland tallied 16 points in the win, while Miles Wallace netted 13 points.
• Amari Moorer led the Marlins with six boards in the win.
• The Marlins shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field, 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from three-point range, and 6-of-11 from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury concludes its time at the TowneBank Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, battling Pfeiffer University at 1 p.m. from Virginia Beach, Va.

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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 men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 196 conference championships, and 45 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.