FROSTBURG, Md. – Salisbury’s Travon Vann collected his own missed layup and converted the putback as the final horn sounded in overtime to hand the Sea Gulls a 71-70 victory over host Frostburg State, Saturday afternoon on senior day.
Box Score
Vann, who led SU in scoring with 27 points, scored six in overtime, but none more important than the final two. The senior took the inbounds pass in front of the FSU bench and dribbled the length of the floor. He attempted a contested layup as the clock neared zero, but he was able to collect the rebound before netting the game winner.
It was fitting that on senior day, a pair of seniors powered the Bobcats (8-15, 2-8) all game. Christian Jackson scored 36 points, just two shy of his career high, and led both teams with 11 rebounds. His 36 points pushed him to 601 points and into second place on the all-time single season list. Jackson also made a game best five three-pointers, to go along with four assists and three steals.
Senior DeSean Antoine was second on the team with 19 points, behind four three-pointers, including three in the second half. He hit a deep three-pointer with 2:55 left in regulation that pulled FSU to within four, 59-55, and he later drilled another from beyond the arc in overtime that gave Frostburg a one-point cushion, 66-65 with 3:19 showing.
Frostburg State shot 50.0 percent (22-of-44) from the floor and 50.0 percent (11-of-22) from beyond three-point range. Defensively, FSU held Salisbury (16-7, 7-3) to just 34.9 percent (22-of-63) with just five three-points.
Where the Sea Gulls lacked in shooting, they made up for it in several key areas. SU finished 22-of-25 (88%) from the foul line and scored 27 points off of 20 FSU turnovers. Salisbury also took advantage of FSU’s thin post lineup with a 28-14 scoring advantage on points in the paint.
Salisbury outrebounded Frostburg 38-31, including 17-5 on the offensive end and turned that edge into a 19-3 lead in second chance points. SU also received 27 points from its bench.
Frostburg State set the tone early on, opening up a 14-5 lead at 13:55. Moments later, the Bobcats held a game-high 15-point lead, 22-7 at 10:47.
The Sea Gulls gathered themselves and collected a quick 10-0 scoring spurt and crawled to within three, 24-21 at 6:32. FSU added a small 7-0 run of its own and led by eight, 36-28, at halftime.
The second half and overtime was a different story as the lead changed hands a combined seven times while the game was tied five times. Salisbury led by as many as nine points with just over five minutes left in regulation, but the Bobcats didn’t back down.
Jackson scored nine points in the final five minutes and Antoine hit a huge three-pointer as the duo helped propel Frostburg back into it. With 12 seconds left, Jackson drove to the baseline and drew a foul while trying to make a tough layup. He calmly knocked down both free throws to knot the game at 61-61.
Salisbury’s ensuing trip down the floor resulted in a missed layup from Travon Vann and a successful putback by Tim Harwood, but the basket was waived off.
Frostburg freshman Royce Hunsberger knocked down a clutch three-pointer with 52 seconds left in overtime that gave the hosts a 70-69 lead, however, Vann captured the final highlight with the game-winner.
Vann finished with a Salisbury best 27 points and eight boards. He scored 16 points in the second half and overtime. Tim Harwood added 10 for visitors.
Frostburg State hosts Marymount in its final regular-season home game this Wednesday at 8:00 pm.
