Gophers Hold Halftime Lead, Sea Gulls Pull Away in Second

TOWSON, Md. - Goucher College led visiting Salisbury University 26-24 at halftime, but the Sea Gulls opened the second half with a 12-2 run en route to a 66-51 non-conference men's basketball victory Wednesday evening at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center.

• Goucher (2-6) opened a 9-4 lead just over four minutes into the game following a three by Kyla Smith (Easton, Pa./Easton).
• Salisbury (4-8) got the lead down to one, 13-12, with 2:52 left in the opening quarter.
• Baskets by Kyani Quarles (Houston, Texas/Cristo Rey Jesuit) and Smith put the Gophers in front 17-12 after one quarter.

• After the Sea Gulls got the lead down to three, 19-16, Goucher used a 7-2 spurt capped by a Smith three to take its largest lead of the game, 26-18, 3:16 before intermission.
• Salisbury scored the final six points of the quarter and a basket by Emily Dilger as time expired pulled the guests within two, 26-24, at the break.

• Salisbury opened with a 7-0 run to take a 31-26 lead 2:17 into the third.
• A free throw by Sydney Nwuli (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) with 5:40 on the clock stopped the Sea Gull run.
• The Sea Gulls went up 36-28 following a three by Tori Rumbaugh with 3:31 on the clock, before a Nwuli putback on Goucher's next possession made it 36-30.
• After the guests went up 10, a Julia Cavoli (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) three made it 44-37 with under a minute left.
• Salisbury carried a 46-37 lead into the final quarter.

• Quarles pulled the Gophers within seven, 46-39, as she scored on the first possession of the fourth.
• Salisbury scored the next six points before Kendra Lawrence (Hackensack, N.J.) scored with 7:25 left to make it 52-41.
• Leading 54-43, the Sea Gulls used a 10-0 run to build a 64-43 advantage with just over three minutes to go.
• Two Ava Cox (Elkton, Md./Elkton) free throws with just under a minute to go made it 64-49 but Goucher got no closer.

• Smith led Goucher with 18 points while grabbing five rebounds.
• Quarles notched her third double-double of the season, scoring 10 points while matching her career high in rebounds with 15.  12 of her rebounds were on the offensive end.
• Lawrence finished with eight points and hauled in 10 rebounds, while Nwuli notched seven points and seven boards, going 3-5 from the floor.
• Goucher, which outrebounded the Sea Gulls 46-40, shot 31.3% overall, was 4-14 behind the arc and 7-12 at the free throw line.
• Salisbury took 11 more trips to the free throw line and was 16-23, while shooting 38% overall and 2-12 from long range.

• Goucher returns to action Saturday when it travels to McDaniel College for a 2 pm contest.
• The Gophers return home on Tuesday, January 10 when it hosts Catholic in a 7 pm Landmark Conference game at the Decker Sports and Recreation Center.