SALISBURY — Cameron Heard knocked down a 3-pointer on the first shot of the game and Salisbury University led the rest of the way, defeating its Eastern Shore rival from Chestertown, 75-53, in a non-conference men’s basketball game Dec. 20.
The Sea Gulls improved to 4-0 in the month of December, and 8-4 on the season.
Reed Rebstock scored seven points in a row on 3-of-3 shooting from the field in the opening three and a half minutes as part of a 10-4 start and the Sea Gulls engineered another run, this one consisting of 10 unanswered points, to extend the spread to 24-10 with just over eight minutes to go before the break.
The Shoremen (3-7) would score on their next seven possessions to shrink the deficit to 33-27 at the 3:49 mark on a Paul Rodolf jumper.
Washington pulled to within five points during the sequence, 30-25, on a Zack Skrocki three with 4:35 remaining before intermission.
Salisbury would score the final eight points of the half, part of a larger 11-2 flurry keyed by a pair of Aidan Camper 3-pointers, to take a 41-27 lead at the break.
The teams split the first eight points of the second half before Salisbury pieced together its second 10-0 run of the afternoon, building a commanding 55-31 lead with just under 13 minutes remaining.
Washington responded with the next nine points punctuated by a Rodolf layup with 9:01 to play, but Salisbury answered with its own 9-0 run.
The Sea Gulls took their largest lead of the game, 70-44, on a pair of Calvin Thomas free throws with 2:41 remaining.
Rebstock led the winners with 14 points and five assists. He shot an efficient 6-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-2 from outside the arc.
Camper, who was 3-of-4 in 3-point attempts, contributed a career high of 11 points.
Jordan Oates’ line included eight points, three assists, two steals and a game-best 17 rebounds, bringing his total to 56 rebounds over the last three games.
Salisbury led 43-20 under the glass.
Washington’s Rodolf led all scorers with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field; he was the only Shoreman in double figures.
Skrocki added nine points and Davis Bland had seven.
Washington shot 34.5% (19-of-55) from the floor, compared to 54.0% (27-of-50) for Salisbury.
Washington was without its floor leader, 6-foot-2 senior guard Kedrick Frink, who had started the previous nine games and was averaging team bests of 16.1 points and 7.1 rebounds a game while also leading the team with 23 assists.
NEXT UP: After three games in a row on the road, Washington returns home Saturday, Dec. 30 to face off against Messiah. It’s the last of the Shoremen’s non-conference contests. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.
Washington resumes its Centennial Conference slate Jan. 6 at home against Muhlenberg.
