SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University men's basketball team was narrowly outpaced in the final minutes of Saturday's annual Fight for Ferguson game, falling 68-63 to the Gettysburg College Bullets.
Before the game,
Aidan Camper was awarded the 2025-26 Jack Ferguson Leadership award, the highest honor in the SU men's basketball program given to the team's most selfless teammate and leader each year.
Leon Elung muscled his way into the paint and banked in the first basket of the game for the Sea Gulls (3-6).
Tyler Ball forced a Bullets (4-5) turnover and sprung Jamison Graves for two more points to put the hosts ahead 4-0. Graves got to the cup and banked in two more layups to accumulate half of Salisbury's 12 points at the 13-minute mark.
Graves put up a prayer with three on the shot clock and banked in a three. Later on, Graves put up another deuce to give the Maroon and Gold a 21-13 advantage halfway through the frame. Camper followed the blueprint, scoring five points in a row to make it 26-18 with 8:25 remaining.
The Sea Gulls implemented a full-court press that caused 14 errors from the Bullets in the first half. After Ball swiped away a Gettysburg pass, Elung capitalized from inside the arc. Before the end of the half,
Calvin Thomas imposed himself in the paint, scoring five points to give the Sea Gulls a 37-35 lead at halftime.
With 13:53 to go,
Jaylen Shippen found Graves, who knocked down a jumper to make it 50-44; however, the Bullets cut the deficit in half on the other end with a triple. The visitors evened the score at 53 with 9:30 to go and took the lead until the 5:01 mark when Ball hit from the elbow after a
Churchill Bounds steal.
A make from beyond the arc by Gettysburg put the Gulls down by 3. Caleb Gillus made a free throw to make it a four-point lead, then Graves got to the line twice and made three of four from the charity stripe.
The Bullets went up by three with under 30 seconds. The Sea Gulls' last possession of the game resulted in a turnover, and Gettysburg hit two free throws to ice the game.
GAME NOTES
- Graves scored 20 points and added five boards, four assists and two steals. Marking his seventh game getting into double-digits.
- Thomas contributed 15 points, his third straight contest with ten or more points.
- Salisbury shot 48.1 percent (26-54) from the field, 40.0 percent (2-5) from distance and 64.3 percent (9-14) from the charity stripe.
The Sea Gulls head to St. Mary's City to take on the St. Mary's (Md.) Seahawks on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 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.
