Salisbury takes second place at Pride of Maryland
SALISBURY, Md. – The Salisbury University men’s basketball team took home second place honors at the 2006 Provident Bank Pride of Maryland tournament this past weekend as senior guards Ray Williams and Segun Odumeru were named to the all-tournament team.

The Sea Gulls (4-1) faced Johns Hopkins University in the championship game on Sunday, November 26 at Goucher College where the Blue Jays won 71-60.  Williams and Odumeru combined for 44 points but were outdone by the JHU trio of T.J. Valerio, Danny Nawrocki and Matt Griffin who totaled 52 points to lead Hopkins to victory. Nawrocki scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds to earn tournament MVP honors.

Salisbury shot 41 percent from the field while Johns Hopkins finished the game at 54 percent which included a 68 percent effort in the second half.

The Sea Gulls got as close as five points, 65-60, within the final two minutes of the game but could not manage another score as Hopkins scored six more points to close out the game.

Salisbury advanced to the championship game after it defeated McDaniel College in the semifinals, 57-53, on Saturday, November 25 at Goucher College. Odumeru led all scorers in the contest as he finished with 18 points and a team high four assists.

Sophomore forward Ozi Menakaya continued to show his presence on the boards as he pulled down a team high eight rebounds. Junior Frank Gerald was the only other Sea Gull to finish in double figures as he scored 14 points.

Salisbury showed it could control the inside paint all evening as it outscored McDaniel 30-16 which included 22 first half points coming from the paint. The Sea Gulls also pulled down 10 more rebounds than the Green Terror, 48-38.

Salisbury’s 4-1 start is the best start since the 2000-01 season when the Sea Gulls opened up with six consecutive victories as they finished with a 15-10 mark.

Salisbury will return to action on Wednesday, November 29 as they travel to Norfolk, Va., to take on the NCAA Division III defending National Champions Virginia Wesleyan College at 7 p.m. Last season Salisbury defeated the Marlins, 66-62, to hand VWC one of its three losses.