SALISBURY, Md. - Entering the 2007-08 season
the Sea Gulls had to find away to replace two of the top scorers in
Salisbury University men's basketball history. Coach Steve
Holmes knew senior guard Gary Ward would
be one of the top scorers for the maroon and gold this season but
he had to find another weapon to add to his arsenal.
Meet Greg Palmer.
Last season, Palmer was buried on the SU bench. The lanky
freshman saw limited time, 21 minutes to be exact in eight games,
and only recorded three points on a three-pointer.
The local product from Salisbury, Md., hung around the Maggs
Center all summer and worked out in the gym day-in and day-out. His
countless hours of shooting and lifting weights are now paying
dividends for the sophomore and the Sea Gulls.
On Tuesday night, it was Palmer who had a breakout game in the
home debut for the maroon and gold before a crowd of 224 at the
Maggs Center. Palmer led all-scorers with a game-high 24 points as
he carried the Sea Gulls into overtime and drained the game-winning
three as the Sea Gulls defeated Goucher College, 71-69, in
overtime.
This was a first round game of the Pride of Maryland Tournament
presented by Provident Bank. Salisbury (2-1) advances to Saturday's
semifinals where SU will meet up with McDaniel College for a 6 p.m.
game on the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.
McDaniel defeated Villa Julie College, 84-61, on Tuesday night
after the two teams went into the half tied at 30. The winner
between Salisbury and McDaniel will meet the winner of the other
semifinal game between St. Mary's (Md.) College and Hood College in
the championship game on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Goucher (1-1) held its largest lead of five-points, 63-58, with
less than three minutes remaining in regulation. The Sea Gull
defense would keep the Gophers from scoring the rest of the way as
Palmer went to work.
The sophomore made a layup in the paint and drew the Gopher foul
at the 2:38 mark. He nailed the free throw to convert the hard
earned three-point play and cut the lead to 63-60. Palmer tied the
game a minute later with another layup in the paint.
Goucher's Ian Brown went to the foul line with the chance to win
the game with 1:19 left but missed both foul shots. SU threw up
three shots and Goucher one as time expired and sent the game into
overtime.
The Gophers scored the first four points in the extra period
before SU answered with back-to-back buckets from Sean
Whittaker (five points, six rebounds) and Jonas
Vaitkus (six points, eight rebounds). With a minute left
Goucher's Amir Hakim scored two of his final 12 points in the game
on a layup in the paint to give the Gophers the slim 69-67 lead.
Goucher would send SU junior guard Brandon
Abney (eight points) to the foul line with 39 seconds
where he made 1-of-2 shots. Abney missed his second shot but
managed to grab his own rebound and control the possession for the
Sea Gulls. Ward (12 points, six rebounds) missed twice on layups
before a timeout was called.
The stage was set for a dramatic shot as the Sea Gulls brought
the ball back into play. Forward Todd Ostrom (five
points) found Palmer in the right corner on the baseline as he
drained a three-pointer in front of the SU bench. The shot brought
the crowd to life with 12 seconds left in the game. Goucher got off
a final three-point attempt in the waning seconds but to no avail
as the Sea Gulls survived.
Through three games Palmer is the leading scorer for the Sea
Gulls with a 17.7 points per game average. He has scored 50 more
points this season than his career total (three points) coming into
the 2007-08 season. There was no need to check last season's stats
after the game to confirm the 24 points was a new career high for
Palmer.
Salisbury led 38-29 at the half as the Sea Gulls' biggest lead
came 32 seconds into the second half when the maroon and gold led
by 12 points. SU outrebounded Goucher 44-40 as the Sea Gulls shot
47 percent from the field (28-for-60).
Goucher was led offensively by guard Darrin Boswell who poured
in a team-high 22 points for the Gophers. Goucher shot 43 percent
from the field (31-for-73). There were four lead changes in the
game.
