Salisbury, Md. – The No. 12 St. Mary's College of Maryland men's basketball team, the defending Capital Athletic Conference champion, opened up defense of their title with a 57-48 road win over Salisbury University Wednesday night. Captains Nicholas LaGuerre (Baltimore, Md./Lansdowne) and Donn Hill (Aberdeen, Md./Bel Air) combined for 41 of the team's 57 points on 13-of-25 shooting from the floor.

LaGuerre went 6-of-13 from the floor, including knocking down a pair of three-pointers, and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line for a season-best 22 points while Hill was 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line for 19 points.

Salisbury (2-3, 0-1 CAC) started off the game with a 4-0 run and led 4-2 at 17:59 for its first and only lead of the first half. The Seahawks responded with a 15-6 run over the next eight minutes to own a seven-point advantage with 9:30 left in the half.

St. Mary's (4-1, 1-0 CAC) stayed ahead of the Sea Gulls but only headed into halftime with a 25-24 margin as senior guard Brandyn Wilkerson (Mt. Airy, Md.) hit a long-range shot as time expired to cap a 6-0 run over the final two minutes. LaGuerre paced all players at intermission with nine points while Hill added eight as the Seahawks shot 41.7% in the first half. Junior guard Chris Viqueira (Boyd, Md.) led SU with seven first-half points in 11 minutes.

The Sea Gulls outscored St. Mary's 14-8 in the first eight minutes of the second half to regain the lead, 38-33 at 11:49. However, a stifling defense put the Seahawks back in the driver's seat, forcing 12 turnovers for 13 points and holding the Sea Gulls to seven field goals.

Forwards Troy Spurrier (Mt. Airy, Md./Glenelg) and Brendan McFall (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) led St. Mary's charge on the glass. Spurrier hauled in a career- and game-best seven rebounds while McFall grabbed six caroms.

Viqueira was the only Sea Gull to score in double digits as he finished with 12 on 5-of-8 shooting while first-year guard Gordon Jeter (Easton, Md.) helped Salisbury post a 31-28 rebounding margin with a game-high seven boards.

The Seahawks will take their three-game win streak to Middletown, Pennsylvania on Saturday, December 7th and put it to the test against conference newcomer Penn State Harrisburg. Tip-off is set for 3:00 pm.

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