The Spartans got off to a great start as they led 12-2 less than five minutes into the game. The Spartans pushed the lead to 11 at 19-8 with 11:56 left in the half. York matched that lead on a Brad Zerfing lay-up with 8:17 left in the stanza. That would be the Spartans’ last field goal of the half. The green and white extended the advantage to 14 on three free throws with 6:39 left but Salisbury scored 14 of the final 16 points of the half to draw to within 30-28 heading to the break.
Despite shooting 29.6% from the floor, the Sea Gulls stayed in the game by converting 12-of-14 from the free throw line. The Sea Gulls also committed just two turnovers, both on offensive fouls while York made seven miscues that turned into 10 points for the visitors.
The Spartans sprinted out of the half with a Zerfing three and a Brian Singer free throw as the lead grew to six. Salisbury responded with a pair of Ray Williams lay-ups but York scored three straight buckets to put the green and white up 42-34 with 14:27 left. That would be York’s largest lead of the second half as the visitors persevered in the face of a raucous home crowd. The Spartan lead vacillated between one and six points over the next ten minutes until Justin Rice hit a jumper with 3:35 left to give Salisbury their first lead of the game. The lead would change hands three times over the next two minutes and Segun Odumeru hit a pair of free throws with 1:58, tying the game at 63. Odumeru then hit a jumper off glass with 1:07 left to give the guests a 65-63 lead with 1:07 remaining. Chad McGowan split a pair of free throws with 55 ticks left. York got a stop and got the ball and drew a foul with six seconds left. The Spartans would be unable to convert the front end of the 1-and-1. Odumeru rebounded the miss and he split his free throws with four seconds remaining. York called time out but the long pass to the front court with two seconds left was batted away by the Gulls, preserving the upset.
The Sea Gulls were paced by Odumeru as the guard poured in a game-high 23 points. He was 7-for-20 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Williams was the other Gull in double figures with 16 points while he handed out six assists, pulled in four rebounds, recorded a blocked shot and a steal. Williams was 6-for-16 from the floor including 0-for-5 from three and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Derrick Washington and Kyle Harmon led a balanced effort on the glass for the Sea Gulls as they both pulled down five caroms.
York placed four players in double figures led by Singer as the senior center had 17 points. Singer was 7-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-5 from the free throw line. He pulled down four rebounds while he also had an assist and a blocked shot. Senior Brandon Bushey drained 15 points while he also handed out a team-high four assists. Senior Kenny Fass and McGowan each had 11 points for the green and white. Fass pulled down six rebounds while he also had two assists and a steal. McGowan had five boards and three assists for YCP.
The Spartans, who lost for the first time this season when leading at the half, shot 53.2% from the floor, 45.5% (5-for-11) from three but went just 9-for-16 (56.3%) from the free throw line. Salisbury shot 41.4% from the floor but 51.6% in the second half. Salisbury also had their lengthy streak making at least one three-point field goal in a game snapped as then went 0-for-10 from distance for the game.
The Sea Gulls were huge on the glass as they out-rebounded York 34-29. Included in that total of 34 was 11 offensive rebounds. Those 11 caroms created 10 points for the Gulls while York got just two second-chance points, a McGowan follow with 2:56 left in the game. York finished the game with 11 turnovers that created 16 points for Salisbury while the Gulls did an outstanding job of taking care of the ball as they committed just seven miscues that resulted in eight York points. The Salisbury bench outscored the Spartan reserves 21-4 for the game.
York must now wait as they are hoping to make their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The 59 schools that are competing in the tournament will be announced late Sunday night with the pairings to be released on Monday, February 27.
Salisbury vs York (Pa.) 2/23/06 7:30 pm at Charles Wolf Gymnasium - York, PA At Charles Wolf Gymnasium - York, PA SALISBURY 66, YORK (PA.) 64 SALISBURY (15-12) Segun Odumeru 7-20 9-11 23; Ray Williams 6-16 4-4 16; Ozi Menakaya 4-4 0-0 8; Kyle Harmon 2-6 0-0 4; Justin Rice 1-3 2-2 4; Dameon Gibbs 2-4 0-0 4; Rico Stewart 1-2 1-2 3; Derrick Washington 1-1 0-0 2; Jonas Vaitkus 0-1 2-2 2; Gary Ward 0-0 0-0 0; Darren Johnson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-58 18-21 66. YORK (PA.) (24-3) Brian Singer 7-9 3-5 17; Brandon Bushey 6-11 1-2 15; Chad McGowan 4-11 3-4 11; Kenny Fass 4-5 1-1 11; Brad Zerfing 2-3 1-3 6; Nate Fry 2-3 0-0 4; Quinn Howard 0-2 0-0 0; Joe Yeck 0-3 0-0 0; Paddy Lee 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 25-47 9-16 64. Salisbury..................... 28 38 - 66 York (Pa.).................... 30 34 - 64 3-point goals-Salisbury 0-10 (Segun Odumeru 0-1; Ray Williams 0-5; Kyle Harmon 0-1; Justin Rice 0-2; Darren Johnson 0-1), York (Pa.) 5-11 (Kenny Fass 2-3; Brandon Bushey 2-4; Brad Zerfing 1-2; Chad McGowan 0-2). Fouled out--Salisbury-None, York (Pa.)-None. Rebounds-Salisbury 34 (Kyle Harmon 5; Derrick Washington 5), York (Pa.) 29 (Kenny Fass 6). Assists-Salisbury 10 (Ray Williams 6), York (Pa.) 18 (Paddy Lee 4; Brandon Bushey 4). Total fouls-Salisbury 22, York (Pa.) 19. A-1031 2006 CAPITAL ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS York, the number one seed in the tournament, are upset by the fifth seeded Sea Gulls. York's 31-game homecourt winning streak is snapped as is their 11-game streak. Salisbury travels to Mary Washington or Catholic on Sat.