SALISBURY, Md. - The Capital Athletic Conference men's basketball game between Salisbury University and Marymount (Va.) University at the Maggs Center will go down in history as one of the longest games in NCAA Division III history. The two teams played five overtime periods on Wednesday night before the Saints ended the madness and walked off the court with a 126-122 victory.

Salisbury (12-12, 7-8 CAC) threw up two final three-point attempts in the waning seconds, to no avail, and Marymount (Va.) sophomore Mike Gray grabbed his 18th and final rebound of the night as the clock expired to seal the victory.

The celebration by Marymount (13-10, 8-7 CAC) was subdued as four of its starting five were so exhausted from playing most of the game. Guards Fred Stanback (27 points, 15 rebounds) and Bryant Majors (21 points) each played 61 minutes out of a possible 65. Gray, who led all Saints with 40 points scored, clocked in 58 minutes and forward Corey Diamond (20 points) was on the court for 59 minutes.

Sea Gull guard Devin Jones (22 points) played the most minutes (62) as he only sat for three minutes for the entire game.

The Saints victory not only broke the hearts of the Sea Gull faithful on Valentine's Day but also ended the last home game for seniors Ray Williams and Segun Odumeru on senior night. Williams, the second leading scorer in the CAC, scored a game-high 41 points and eight assists in 57 minutes. Fellow backcourt teammate Odumeru scored 23 points in 54 minutes and is now tied for sixth place in school history with 1,495 career points. Williams moves into the top 10 with 1,392 points.

Salisbury falls to sixth place in the conference standings with one game left on the schedule, this Saturday, February 17, at Hood College (currently in first place), before the CAC tournament field is announced. The Saints sit in fifth place tied with St. Mary's (Md.) College, who defeated University of Mary Washington, 76-64, tonight.

The five overtime affair ties the NCAA Division III record for most overtime periods. Coincidently, this is the fifth game to ever go five overtimes since 1973, the year the NCAA began keeping Division III men's basketball records. The last time this many overtime periods were played was on February 18, 1999, in a game between Babson and Wheaton (Mass.).

Salisbury and Marymount (Va.) also set a new NCAA Division III record for combined points scored in overtime periods with 102. The old record (92 points) came in the Babson 115-107 victory. Marymount (Va.) sets a new NCAA Division III record for team points in overtime periods with 53. The previous high was Babson's 50 points. The game is also the longest ever in Capital Athletic Conference history.

The 102 combined points scored will rank second all-time in any NCAA division. California (Pa.) and Edinboro combined for 114 points in a five overtime Division II contest on February 4, 1989. The all-time record for overtime periods in any NCAA division is seven set twice, once in Division I (Cincinnati vs. Bradley on December 21, 1981) and over 50 years ago in Division II (Yankton and Black Hills on February 18, 1956).

Salisbury went on a 20-6 run midway through the first half to take a 30-18 lead with 8:41 left before halftime. The Saints went on a run of their own, 14-6, as the Sea Gulls clung onto a 36-32 lead at the break.

The second half was close throughout as neither team led by more then seven points. Odumeru hit SU's final field goal on a jumper with just under three minutes in the game. Marymount (Va.) scored the final seven points, five from Gray, to force overtime.

The first overtime period was highlighted by three-pointers from Jones and Williams and a Gray layup with 25 seconds left to force the sixth tie of the game and send the game to the second overtime period. MMU's Majors missed two free throws with 11 seconds left to give SU a chance to tie the game on a jumper by Williams with three seconds left.

The teams traded one-point leads in the third overtime. Williams scored a layup in the paint with 31 seconds left on the clock and the Gulls up one, 99-98. SU junior Gary Ward (19 points) got whistled for a foul with 13 ticks on the game clock and sent Stanback to the free throw line. Stanback (9-for-13 from the charity stripe) hit the first of his two attempts and another missed Williams' jumper in the final seconds sent the game to the fourth overtime period.

Three-pointers rained in the fourth overtime as Jones sank one for the Gulls before Stanback answered with an old fashion three-point play. Williams drained his sixth three-pointer of the night which was quickly followed by a three by Majors to tie the game for the 12th different time. Jones sank another three-pointer to send the crowd of 255 into a tizzy. SU would take a four-point lead, 111-107, on a Jones layup and made foul shot with 1:20 to go. Jones scored 10 of SU's 13 points in the fourth overtime period. The three's didn't stop there as Majors hit a dagger with one second left on the clock to knot the game at 112 apiece. There were a total of seven three-point plays in the period.

Marymount (Va.) continued the flurry of three-pointers as senior guard Pooyan Rahimi came off the bench to hit his first shot of the game, 60 minutes and 18 seconds into the lengthy contest. The Saints built their lead to six points, midway through the fifth and final overtime period, and withstood one final charge by the relentless Sea Gulls. Williams hit his seventh and final three-pointer of the game at the 1:07 mark as SU trailed, 124-122. The Saints would deny a sixth overtime period as they iced the game on two made free throws.

There were a combined nine players that scored in double figures, five for the Sea Gulls, and two Saints recorded double-doubles in the game. Marymount (Va.) out-rebounded Salisbury, 61-45, and held a 25-19 advantage in assists. The Saints outshot the Gulls 53.5 to 46.5 percent from the field. The teams combined for 31 turnovers and both shot 46 percent from behind the three-point arc and 59 percent from the free throw line.

This epic game will forever be etched into Salisbury and Marymount (Va.) men's basketball history and be remembered as a NCAA record five overtime game that saw both teams battle to the final buzzer.