CHESTER, Pa. – The Salisbury University men's basketball team needed an extra five minutes of play, but prevailed on Saturday afternoon against the Widener University Pride 80-75 to win a second contest on the road in four days.
Leon Elung started the game making plays on both ends by blocking the Pride's (2-6) first attempt of the day and scoring the first bucket for the Sea Gulls (5-6) on the offensive end.
Calvin Thomas struck twice in for the Maroon and Gold before Widener blitzed with seven straight points to take a 9-6 lead.
Threes from
Joey Lutz and
Aidan Camper fueled the visitors as they trailed.
Elijah Carroll made a layup with 5:20 to tie the score, and
Jamison Graves nailed a triple to make it 26-23 Salisbury. Camper buried another shot from beyond the arc; however, the Pride closed out the half on a 13-6 run to take a 38-32 lead into the break.
The Sea Gulls locked down Widener in the first ten minutes of the second half, outpacing the Pride 20-8 over the extended stretch of action.
Churchill Bounds banked in a layup to make it 62-56 with just over three minutes remaining, and Graves hit from distance next time down the floor to build up the lead.
The Pride rallied late and was able to force an extra session with both teams at 66 points. An Elung layup sandwiched between a Carroll three and a layup provided a spark for the Gulls, who led 73-70 halfway through overtime. Bounds broke through for back-to-back buckets in the paint, and Carroll sank two free throws to fend off the Pride and secure the win.
GAME NOTES
- Carroll scored a team-high 13 points with 11 of his tallies coming in the second half or in overtime
- Bounds' 12 points all came in the final 15 minutes of game action.
- Thomas added 12 points and was one board shy of a double-double. Thomas, Bounds and Elung finished with 9 rebounds.
- The Sea Gulls out rebounded Widener by a margin of 53-29, which is the most rebounds gathered in by the Sea Gulls this season.
- Salisbury shot 44.8 percent (30-67) from the field, 41.3 percent (7-17) from beyond the arc and 56.5 percent (13-23) from the free throw line.
- Spanning back to November 16, 2023, the Sea Gulls have won five straight games that have gone to overtime.
The Sea Gulls will participate in the Suyes Yellow Jacket Classic in Ashland, Va., hosted by Randolph-Macon. SU will take on Eastern for a second time in five games on Monday, December 29 at 2 p.m.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's 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 won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 206 conference championships, and have produced 53 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
