Second half rally by Salisbury cut short by Grove City

CARLISLE, Pa. - For the second consecutive day the Salisbury University men's basketball team had four different players reach double-digit point totals but the Sea Gulls came up short, 79-67, to Grove City College in Saturday's consolation round of the Dickinson College Tip-Off Tournament.

Salisbury (0-3) outscored Grove City 42-32 in the second half and even closed to within five points with 10 minutes to play. SU junior guard Devin Jones led all Sea Gull scorers with 16 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.

The Sea Gulls trailed at the start of the game but would knot the score at 13 apiece at the 11:39 mark in the first half on two consecutive made free throws by sophomore forward Ryan Hourihan (10 points). The Wolverines then went on a 34-12 run to close out the first half and take a 47-25 lead into the break.

SU came on strong midway through the second half when junior forward Matt DeLizio capped off a 17-5 run with a three-point play after he was fouled on a lay-up. DeLizio's effort made the score 55-50 but Grove City's Joe McCoy (21 points) answered with a three-pointer to squash Salisbury's momentum.

Salisbury registered its highest point total of the season thanks in part to the spark supplied by DeLizio off the bench. He shot 5-for-10 from the field and fell a rebound (nine) shy of a double-double in just 13 minutes of work. Junior guard Greg Palmer chipped in 12 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Grove City tallied its first win of the season behind McCoy, who buried five three-pointers on nine attempts. Ryan Gibson chipped in 14 points while Drew Vandermeer (11 points) pulled down eight rebounds for the Wolverines.

The maroon and gold will next prepare for the annual Provident Pride of Maryland Tournament where Salisbury will travel to Towson, Md., on Tuesday, November 25, to face Goucher College in the first round at 7:30 p.m.