Salisbury (4-2), one of only three teams to defeat the Marlins last season, played an inspired game from the start, led by Ray Williams and Segun Odumeru. The Sea Gulls led 32-31 at halftime and held a 45-40 advantage after an Odumeru dunk and five points from Williams. But, the host Marlins began their comeback with 13:58 remaining to play when senior All-American Brandon Adair scored off an assist from Rodney Young.
Six minutes later the Marlins led 56-48 as Tucker utilized his quickness to get inside on the Sea Gulls for scores, while Paschal hit a key triple. Tucker tallied six points in the run, Paschal added five, and junior TonTon Balenga scored three.
A timely triple by Devin Jones pulled the Gulls within three with 3:29 on the clock, but Adair took over inside for the Marlins at that point. He scored five consecutive points to repad the lead to 64-56 with 2:18 to play. Salisbury cut the lead back to six twice in the final seconds, only to see the Marlins come back with crucial points from rookie Stephen Fields, sophomore Terrell Dixon, and Tucker.
Williams led all scoring with 27 points, hitting 10-of-15 from the field, including a trio of triples, and Adair led VWC with 25 points, hitting 10-of-14 from the field. Tucker finished with 14 points for the Marlins and Odumeru tallied 11 for Salisbury.
VWC helped its cause by dominating the boards, 35-24, led by Adair with nine. Frank Gerald recorded seven rebounds for Salisbury.