Follow @UrbanaU_Sports on Twitter, Urbana_Sports on Instagram and check out UUBlueKnights.com for all the latest coverage of UU Athletics.
SALEM, W. Va. – Urbana (0-1) opened the season with a 78-72 setback at Salem (1-0) Friday inside the T. Edwards Davis Gymnasium.
UU led by as much as nine in a closely-contested matchup that featured 16 lead changes, including 13 in the second half. The Blue Knights drop to 23-31 all-time in season openers.
Freshman
Matt Treacy made an impressive debut with 23 points and four 3-pointers in the second half to lead the Blue Knights. Junior
Jordan Bradley also reached double figures in his debut with 14 points while senior
Malik Jacobs added 11. Four players made their debut, including Treacy, Bradley,
Zach Bates (4 pts) and
Datrey Long (9 pts).
// SERIES HISTORY
Salem snapped a six-game losing streak in the series, but Urbana still leads 9-2 all-time... UU suffered its first loss inside Salem's T. Edward Davis Gymnasium… the past two meetings have been true road openers for the Blue Knights… the two teams will meet again this season on Jan. 5, 2019 in Urbana.
// HOW IT HAPPENED
First half – Urbana took the first lead as
Nick Detlev scored on the opening possession but Salem responded with a pair of 3-pointers… UU fought back to even the score 12-12 with eight of those points coming from Treacy… the run continued as
Ethan Snapp came off of the bench to ignite a 13-4 surge, putting UU in front by nine, 25-16… Salem cut the deficit to three, but big offensive rebounds by Jacobs and Treacy led to easy putback layups… a pair of free throws from Jacobs right before halftime gave the Blue Knights a 33-28 at the break.
Second half – Salem scored on its first three possessions to take the lead, 34-33… hot three-point shooting lifted the Blue Knights to a 47-40 lead at the first media timeout… Treacy drilled three straight attempts from beyond the arc and Long knocked down a trey… then, the Tigers responded with a rapid 13-0 run to regain the lead, 53-47… with UU on the ropes, Treacy stopped the bleeding with his fourth 3-pointer… back-to-back buckets from Snapp got UU within two near the 10-minute mark… a Treacy free throw gave the Blue Knights a 58-57 advantage … the two teams ended up exchanging the lead 13 times in the second half… SU closed the game on a 11-3 run over the final four minutes and did not allow a Blue Knight made field goal during that span.
// UP NEXT
UU travels to Cleveland State for Tuesday's exhibition matchup. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland.
