SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University men's basketball team faired better against St. Mary's (Md.) College the second time around as the Sea Gulls defeated the Seahawks, 84-77, in the Coach versus Cancer game Thursday evening in front of a crowd of 385 at the Maggs Center.

The Sea Gulls were led by the senior guard Ray Williams who scored a game-high 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting which includes 5-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.

Salisbury (12-10, 7-6 CAC) jumped out to as much as a 15-point lead in the first half before St. Mary's (11-10, 6-7 CAC) clawed back to trail by eight, 44-36, at the break.

Williams began the second half slowly before he found his groove midway through the quarter as he hit a pair of step-back three-point field goals to give the Gulls a 59-53 lead with nine minutes to play.

The Sea Gulls built up their second half lead to 10 points with 4:30 to play after senior Segun Odumeru (12 points) hit a 10-foot jumper off a feed from junior Frank Gerald (seven points).

St. Mary's went on an 8-0 run over the next minute of the game to pull within two of Salisbury, 70-68. Williams ended the run as he converted the old-fashion three-point play off a 12-foot baseline jumper followed by a foul shot.

The Seahawks pulled within two-points, 79-77, one more time with 29 second left, however, the Sea Gulls went 5-of-6 from the foul line to end the game and preserve the win.

St. Mary's was led by Tyson Lesesne who scored 26 points and Mike Smelkinson who added 23 points.

SU sophomore Ozi Menakaya pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in the win.

With the win the Sea Gulls even the season series with St. Mary's and pull into a tie with Marymount (Va.) for fifth place in the Capital Athletic Conference.

Salisbury returns to action on Saturday, February 10, as they travel to Washington, D.C., to face CAC opponent Catholic University, who currently sits second in the conference standings, at 4 p.m. The Cardinals beat the Sea Gulls, 62-58, on January 17.

About Coaches vs. Cancer
Coaches vs. Cancer is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) that empowers basketball coaches, their teams, and local communities to make a difference in the fight against cancer.

The American Cancer Society and the NABC adopted that concept in 1993 and transformed it into a nationwide effort to unite coaches across the country in the common mission to provide help and hope to all people facing cancer. Today, more than 500 Division I, II, and III college coaches are involved in the program, having raised more than $30 million to support the American Cancer Society's lifesaving mission since its inception. Additionally, more than 100 high school coaches also participate in the program.