Salisbury Hands #16 Marlins First Defeat of Season

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Salisbury University used its length and a strong 2-3 defensive zone to hold No. 16 Virginia Wesleyan to 60 points in a 68-60 decision Tuesday night.

The Marlins got off to a slow start, falling behind 10-2 seven minutes into the game. Justin Witmer had five points in the spurt for Salisbury while Wyatt Smith added three and Gordon Jeter contributed a layup.

The Sea Gulls went 5-6 from the free throw line as part of the 10-2 run. Virginia Wesleyan could not make it count at the charity stripe in the opening half, going 1-7 (14.3%) before intermission.

The Marlins outshot Salisbury in the first half, but the length of the visitors helped them corral eight offensive rebounds in the opening half, forcing the Marlins into six turnovers on the defensive end.

The Marlins jumped out to a strong start in the second half after trailing 33-25 at halftime. Virginia Wesleyan rolled off a 12-0 run in just 2:46 to start the period.

Khory Moore started the run with a half-opening three-pointer after scoring just two points in the first half. Following an offensive rebound on the Marlins' next possession, Moore scored a traditional three-point play. He knocked down another long three on Virginia Wesleyan's next time up the court, giving the Marlins their first lead of the game, 34-33 at 17:56.

He posted another traditional three-point play the next time up the court, giving him all 12 points in the Marlin run.

The Marlins led from that point until 6:04 remained when Wyatt Smith finished off a put-back layup for a 55-53 Salisbury lead. Tip-ins by Chad Barcikowski and Gordon Jeter put the Sea Gulls up 59-53 with 4:15 to play. The length continued to be an issue as Barcikowski, Jeter, Smith, and Witmer collapsed on the Marlins as they drove into the lane.

Salisbury forced the Marlins into 15 turnovers in the game, committing just seven turnovers as a team. The Sea Gulls shot 78.3% from the charity stripe (18-23), while the Marlins were just 53.3% (8-15) from the line.

Witmer led Salisbury (4-0) with 14 points, while adding seven rebounds and a team-high four assists. Smith finished with a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds to go with 11 points and eight rebounds from Barcikowski.

Moore posted a game-high 20 points for the Marlins. Keijon Honore tallied 11 points off the bench.

No. 16 Virginia Wesleyan (3-1/0-0) hosts Emory & Henry College (3-0/0-0) Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opener for both teams.