Sea Gulls fall to Wesley in CAC tournament; several milestones reached

DOVER, Del. - The Salisbury University men's basketball team saw its run in the 2010 Capital Athletic Conference tournament come to an end on Tuesday as it fell to Wesley College, 82-64, in the first round of play. The third-seeded Wolverines will advance to Thursday night's CAC semifinal game against second-seed York (Pa.) College.

Several Sea Gulls reached career milestones in the loss, as senior guard Devin Jones (Severn, Md.) entered the contest needing just 16 points to join the SU men's basketball program's 1,000-point club. Jones reached the milestone with a pair of made free throws with 5:01 left in the second half. Senior guard Greg Palmer (Salisbury, Md.) closed out his career as part of the CAC record books, as he finished with an 85.45 free throw percentage (141-of-165), third-best all-time in the conference. Junior center Chris McGrew (Burtonsville, Md.) is tied for fourth in single-season field goal percentage, as he shot 62.5 percent (130-of-208) from the field this season.

The Sea Gulls (13-12, 9-7 CAC) were plagued in the first half by turnovers as they coughed over the ball 13 times. The Wolverines were able to turn those turnovers into points, including a 28-point lead at one point, which the Gulls were able to bring down to a 22-point lead at the half. The Wolverines (18-7, 11-5 CAC) shot a blistering 60.6 percent (20-of-33) from the field and 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from behind the three-point arc. 

SU attempted to put together a run in the second half of action, but the Wolverines were able to stave off any comeback as they kept the lead in double digits the rest of the way.

Jones and Palmer led the way for the Gulls in the game, as they each scored 16 points, with Palmer also pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. McGrew was not far behind as he scored 15 points, brought down six rebounds and blocked three shots.

Wesley was paced by guard Rudy Thomas, who scored 23 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the victory. Wolverine guard Kevin Jones scored 18 points and had five rebounds.

The loss spells the end of the career of three Sea Gull seniors: Drew Dickson (Silver Spring, Md.), Jones and Palmer. Dickson and Palmer played in all 25 games this season, with Jones just one behind at 24 as he sat out one game with an injury. The Sea Gulls are expected to return 11 letter winners for the 2010-11 season.