SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University men's basketball team lost to first place Capital Athletic Conference leader University of Mary Washington 84-77 on Saturday afternoon at the Maggs Center before a crowd of 266. The loss snaps Salisbury's two-game winning streak and concludes a three-game homestand for the maroon and gold.

Salisbury (4-14, 2-7 CAC) trailed by as many as 13 but managed to keep the high-powered Eagles within striking distance throughout the game. Sophomore Sean Whittaker (10 points) drained a three-pointer with 47 seconds left to cut UMW's lead to three, 80-77. The Eagles iced the game with four free throws as the Gulls missed five shots in the closing seconds.

SU shot 40 percent from behind the three-point line (14-for-35) while UMW shot 34 percent (10-for-29) from long range. There was a combined 64 three-point attempts in the game.

Salisbury was led by senior Gary Ward's 21 points (five three-pointers) while sophomore Greg Palmer scored 16 (four three-pointers). Junior guard Wesley Sweet added 13 points and a team-high six assists. SU senior forward Jonas Vaitkus (five points) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in the loss.

UMW center Brandon Altmann finished with a double-double as he scored 18 points and grabbed 11 boards as the maroon and gold were outscored 34-16 in the paint. SU outscored the UMW bench 17-9 and converted 18 points of Eagle turnovers.

SU is off until next Saturday, February 2, when the Gulls travel to St. Mary's (Md.) College for another CAC contest which will begin at 4 p.m.