FROSTBURG, Md. – Senior Travon Vann's putback at the buzzer lifted the Salisbury University men's basketball team to a 71-70 overtime victory at Frostburg State University in Capital Athletic Conference action at Bobcat Arena on Saturday.
Vann collected the rebound of his own shot with one second left in the extra session and laid it in to win the second overtime game between Salisbury (16-7, 7-3 CAC) and Frostburg State (8-15, 2-8) this season. The Sea Gulls won the first meeting of the season on Dec. 8 at the Maggs Physical Activities Center, 68-64.
Royce Hunsberger hit a three-pointer with 52 seconds left in overtime to give the Bobcats a 70-69 lead on Saturday. After senior Elijah Gore missed a three on the other end, FSU's Christian Jackson missed a jumper which would have given his team more breathing room with seven seconds left. The ball went off the rim, out of bounds and to Salisbury. Following a timeout, Vann drove the lane and missed, but was there for the winner.
Vann led the Sea Gulls with 27 points on 10-for-23 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Junior Tim Harwood chipped in with 15 points and three boards, while freshman Kyle Savercool also had eight rebounds, four points and an assist.
SU erased a 36-28 Frostburg State lead at halftime, building a nine-point advantage, 54-45, when freshman Luke Ruland knocked down two free throws with 6:06 to play in regulation. FSU used a 12-5 run to cut the deficit to 59-57 with 1:48 left on a pair of Jabari Kamau foul shots.
Vann responded with a layup on the next possession to push the Gulls' lead to 61-57, but Jackson drained four freebies in the final minute to send the game into overtime.
Jackson scored a game-high 36 points grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out four assists to lead the Bobcats, who shot 50 percent (22-for-44) from the floor for the game. DeSean Antoine also picked up 19 points, two assists and two steals for Frostburg State.
Salisbury outrebounded the Bobcats, 38-31, including 17-5 on the offensive glass. The Gulls scored 19 second-chance points on the day. Salisbury also outscored FSU in the paint (28-14), off of turnovers (27-13) and in bench scoring (27-7).
Frostburg State opened the game on a 14-5 run over 6:05. Antoine had eight points and Jackson seven before Salisbury got back into the game and cut the deficit to 24-21 with 6:32 left in the half.
Vann started things for the Sea Gulls with a layup assisted by Chris Viqueira. Vann added four more in the stretch, prior to Harwood hitting a three-pointer.
The Bobcats, though, closed the first period with a 36-28 advantage after shooting 64 percent (14-for-22) from the field in the opening 20 minutes. FSU was also 6-of-10 from long range.
Salisbury hosts CAC leader and 12th-ranked St. Mary's (Md.) College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.