YORK, Pa. – The Salisbury University men's basketball team battled back from a 12-point second-half deficit at York (Pa.) College to force overtime, but the Spartans were too strong in the extra session as the Sea Gulls fell 79-70.

The teams played close throughout the early minutes of the game. Salisbury (11-14, 6-10 Capital Athletic Conference) took a 5-0 lead to start the game before York charged back to take the advantage with a 7-0 run of its own.

The Spartans (17-8, 11-5 CAC) pulled away in the latter minutes of the first period, stretching their lead to as much as 12 and holding a 36-27 advantage at halftime.

The York lead remained around double figures through much of the second half until the Sea Gulls began to chip away. A 15-2 run over five minutes brought Salisbury back from a 12-point deficit to a one-point advantage with less than five minutes to play in regulation.

The Sea Gulls held the lead until the final moments of the second half as York's Kevin Whaley buried a jumper to give the Spartans a 62-61 lead with 16 seconds left. But Salisbury senior center Chris McGrew would get to the free-throw line with four seconds showing on the clock. McGrew hit one-of-two free throws to send the game to overtime.

The Spartans were nearly perfect in the overtime period, missing just one field goal try and connecting on both efforts from three-point land to pull away for the win.

Salisbury got outstanding individual efforts from McGrew, who scored 21 points to go with seven rebounds while junior Mike Maczko came away with 16 points and pulled down a career-best 16 rebounds.

Despite the loss, the Sea Gulls clinched a spot in next week's CAC tournament on Saturday. By virtue of Frostburg State's loss to St. Mary's (Md.) College, Salisbury will be the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. As the No. 6 seed, the Sea Gulls will travel to the No. 3 seed on Tuesday night. It will be a familiar opponent as York is the third seed in the tournament.