SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University men's basketball team cruised to a 14-point victory on Monday over The College of New Jersey Lions, 73-59, thanks to a balanced offense and strong rebounding.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salisbury started the game a little cold, allowing TCNJ to jump out to a 17-7 lead after the first six minutes of play. Rob Goyena proceeded to get the offense rolling by drilling back-to-back three-pointers to make it 17-13. The ensuing possession saw Greg Bloodsworth make a three of his own to bring the Sea Gulls within one to force a TCNJ timeout.
• A few minutes later, Jordan Oates hit a step-back three-point shot to give the Sea Gulls a two-point lead, 21-19, and then they never looked back. SU capped off a 23-3 scoring run with a Brandon Craig layup to find themselves with a 10-point lead, 30-20, with five minutes left to go in the first half.
• The Lions mounted a slight comeback to get within three with under a minute to go. But a Sidney Lebonzo free throw, followed by a steal and a basket put Salisbury up 36-29 heading into halftime.
• The Sea Gulls kept the strong shooting going in the second half, outscoring the Lions 27-11 through the first 11 minutes of the frame. Two Paul Garcia threes bookended an Oates put-back gave Salisbury its largest lead of the game, 65-42, at the 7:39 mark of the second half.
• Salisbury ran into some foul trouble in the second half and allowed TCNJ to inch back into the game, but Salisbury's lead never fell below 10 points.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Salisbury held the advantage in field-goal percentage over TCNJ, Salisbury shot 39.4 percent (26-66) and TCNJ shot 35.3 percent (18-51).
• The Sea Gulls shot 45 percent (9-20) from three-point range. Rob Goyena was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and finished with 11 points off the bench.
• Jordan Oates secured his first double-double of the season with a career-high 19 rebounds. 12 of his 19 rebounds were defensive. Oates also scored a team-high 13 points off 5-of-11 shooting.
• Johnny Fierstein finished the game with 12 points, going 5-of-9 from the field. Fierstein added six rebounds, dished out two assists and stole the ball three times.
• The Sea Gulls scored 32 of their 73 points off the bench.

TCNJ GAME NOTES

• Danny Bodine and Justin Carbone lead the Lions with 17 points each.
• Anthony DiCaro finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
• TCNJ tallied five blocks.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury will travel to Baltimore, Md. to take on No. 14 Johns Hopkins on Wednesday, Nov. 10.
• Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Goldfarb Gymnasium.

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 the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 184 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.

To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.