SANTA CRUZ, Ca. – The fourth-seeded Salisbury University men's basketball team took a lead into halftime against the eighth-ranked and first-seeded University of Mary Washington Eagles, but were outscored 35-17 in the second half, falling 55-46 inside West Field House in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference semifinals.
The Eagles held a narrow lead throughout the majority of the first stanza, leading 18-17 with five minutes to play in the first.
Jamison Graves paced the Sea Gulls' (11-15) offense with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting during the early going.
The Sea Gulls rounded out the half on a 12-2 run to go into the break ahead 29-20.
Churchill Bounds sparked the surge by converting a three-point play, then
Aidan Camper drilled a triple, and
Elijah Bryan and
Daniel Oyediran put home two-handed slams to punctuate the frame. SU held Mary Washington to seven field goals in the first twenty minutes, a season-low for the Eagles.
The Eagles scored the first ten points of the second segment before
Tyler Ball drilled a mid-range jumper to regain SU's lead. Both sides traded being in front until Mary Washington broke out with 9:50 to play by going on a 9-2 stretch.
With the Eagles ahead 49-41,
Leon Elung scored from inside the paint, and Graves lined one up from distance to cut the deficit to three. The Eagles neutralized the comeback bid by making six free throws and holding SU scoreless for the final 2:46 of play.
GAME NOTES
- Graves led the Sea Gulls with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
- Oyediran scored ten points.
- Bounds added eight points and seven boards.
- Salisbury shot 36.5 percent (19-52) from the field, 16.7 percent (2-12) from beyond the arc and 54.5 percent (6-11) from the charity stripe.
The Sea Gulls conclude their season with an 11-15 record, advancing to the C2C semifinals for the fifth straight season.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 207 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
