SALISBURY, Md. – In a tough, gritty game against two Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) rivals, the Salisbury University men's basketball team saw its season end in the first round of the CAC Championship Tournament to the St. Mary's Seahawks with a 79-74 defeat on Saturday.

THE RUNDOWN

Final Score: St. Mary's 79, Salisbury 74
Records: Salisbury (10-16) | St. Mary's (9-17)
Location: Maggs PAC – Salisbury, Md.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salisbury held the early advantage as Johnny Fierstein scored six of Salisbury's first 11 points of the game to take an 11-6 lead in the first five minutes of the game.
• St. Mary's countered with a run of its own in the middle parts of the first half. After Salisbury held a 17-12 lead, St. Mary's went on a 21-8 run to take a 33-25 lead with just over two minutes left in the half.
• Two free throws by Gary Briddell and a split of a pair of free throws by Cameron Heard cut the St. Mary's lead to 33-28 at the half.
• Salisbury battled back in the second half to tie the game and take the lead. A Bryan Boehlert driving layup and a Fierstein jumper capped off a 17-10 run for Salisbury to hold a 45-43 lead with 13:04 left in regulation.
• Salisbury looked to gain control of the game when Mike Ward got fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free-throws and Boehlert drained a three to give the Sea Gulls the 51-47 lead. But, St. Mary's responded with a three by Miles Gillette and several possessions later, Dee Barnes made three free throws of his own to nod the game at 55.
• The two teams traded the lead back-and-forth throughout the rest of the second half. After another Boehlert driving layup put Salisbury ahead, 61-58 with just over five minutes left in regulation, St. Mary's went on a 9-0 run to jump ahead 67-61 with 3:30 left in the game.
• Salisbury cut the lead down to two twice in the final two minutes of the game. A Fierstein layup with 1:20 on the clock trimmed the St. Mary's lead down to 71-69. After a St. Mary's basket, Briddell made a layup of his own to see the score at 73-71 in the final 30 seconds of the game.
• Salisbury sent St. Mary's to the free-throw line in the final moments of the game but the Seahawks made their free throws to stymie the comeback bid.

GAME NOTES

• Johnny Fierstein led the Salisbury offense with 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He also added six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
• Gary Briddell tallied 17 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
• Mike Ward recorded 10 points and six rebounds.
• Bryan Boehlert paced the bench effort with 11 points, all coming in the second half.
• Lucas Martin reeled in nine rebounds and netted eight points.
• Gary Grant led St. Mary's with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
• Although Salisbury outshot St. Mary's 43.5 percent to 36.7 percent from the field, St. Mary's was on the charity stripe 36 times during the game. The Seahawks converted 31 of their 36 free-throw attempts.

THE WRAP

• Salisbury finishes the 2019-20 season with a 10-16 overall record and a 4-6 record in the CAC.