The Virginia Wesleyan men's basketball team (3-2) fell short by three points against the Sea Gulls of Salisbury University, losing 72-69.
Amari Moorer led the Marlins with 18 points, shooting 8-for-14 from the field, 0-for-1 from three-point territory, and 2-for-4 from the free throw line; Moorer tallied eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal.
Khai Seargeant was a key contributor with 16 points as he went 3-for-5 from the field, 0-for-1 from beyond the arc, and 10-for-11 from the free throw line; Seargeant registered three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Virginia Wesleyan had a strong start as
Paul Anderson made a three-pointer and
Waylo Wilson followed up with back-to-back layups to give the Marlins a 7-0 lead. Salisbury responded with a 9-4 scoring run between 17:09 and 13:06 to minimize VWU's lead, bringing the score to 11-9.
With 8:27 on the clock in the first half, the Sea Gulls made a layup and the foul shot. They followed up with a jumper to gain their first lead of the game with a score of 18-17. With less than five minutes remaining in the half,
Waylo Wilson dunked the ball to gain back the lead for the Marlins, bringing the score to 23-21. Virginia Wesleyan outscored the Sea Gulls 12-5 from that point forward to end the half 36-26.
The Marlins struggled to find the basket early in the second half as Salisbury went on a 14-3 scoring run to regain the lead with a score of 40-39 with 14:21 on the clock.
Waylo Wilson responded with a layup to give the Marlins a 41-40 lead. VWU and Salisbury continued to exchange leads in the closely matched contest. A jumper from
Khai Seargeant tied up the game at 47 with just under ten minutes of play remaining.
Salisbury sunk a three-pointer and followed up with a layup to stretch their lead to seven with 6:19 on the clock, but
Elijah Gardner of VWU made a clutch three-pointer himself to bring the Marlins within 5.
Demeir Pollard found the basket for a three to minimize the gap to two points, but Salisbury responded with a three themselves at 4:35. VWU continued to compete until the end, but could not find the basket in the last possession to force overtime. Salisbury won by a score of 72-69.
