Cunningham Scores Team-High 16 Points For WC

SALISBURY, MD – Travon Vann scored a game-high 22 points as host Salisbury downed visiting Washington College, 73-68,  on Thursday evening at the Maggs Physical Activities Center in non-conference action between the Eastern Shore rivals in the season opener for both squads.  The Sea Gulls are now 1-0 on the season, while the Shoremen drop to 0-1.

Salisbury raced out to a 23-3 lead in the first 7:33 of the game on a pair of free throws by Dylan Robeson.  However Washington would respond with a 18-2 run of its own to cut the lead to 25-21 with 7:09 remaining in the first half on a dunk by sophomore guard Stephen Poarch (Middletown, DE/Sanford School) with 5:36 left in the opening half.  However the Sea Gulls would close the half on an 11-4 spurt to take a 36-25 lead into halftime.

The hosts scored seven of the first eight points of the second half to take a 43-26 lead with 16:12 left in the game on a Vann traditional three-point play.  The Shoremen scored eight consecutive points to trim the lead to 43-34 with 13:58 to go in the contest of two free throws by senior forward Charlie McShane (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford).  Washington kept coming and cut the lead to 48-43 with 10:05 remaining on a lay-in by Poarch and that capped a 17-5 run that took 6:07 to complete.  However, Salisbury responded with an 11-2 run to take a 59-45 lead with 3:47 to go on a Tim Harwood layup. 

The Shoremen would not go away though and cut the lead to 67-62 with 1:05 left on a conventional three-point play by freshman forward Dave Knox (Warrington, PA/Central Bucks South).  After two free throws by Salisbury's Harwood put the hosts up 69-62 with 59 seconds remaining, junior guard Kevin Cunningham (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Lenape) countered with a triple to reduce the lead to 69-65 with 49 ticks to go.  However that was as close as WC would get and Salisbury holds on for the five-point win.

Harwood was the only other Salisbury player to record double figures in points as he scored 12 points.  Trent Epps had 11 rebounds to lead all players.  The Sea Gulls shot 50% from the floor (23-for-46), 40% from three-point range (6-for-15) and made 21 of 26 free throws for an 81% clip.  Salisbury held a slim 33-29 edge on the boards.

Cunningham scored 16 points to lead the Shoremen, while Poarch added 15 points and McShane chipped in with 13 points.  Cunningham and Poarch each had six rebounds to lead the team, while Poarch had game-bests of four assists and four steals.  The Shoremen shot 37% from the floor (23-for-62), 22% from behind the arc (5-for-23) and 65% from the charity stripe (17-for-26). 

Salisbury turned it over 26 times, while Washington coughed it up 20 times.  The Shoremen had 14 steals, while the Sea Gulls had 12 thefts.

Washington returns to the court on Saturday afternoon when they host #25 Hampden-Sydney in the team's home opener.  Tip-off at the Cain Athletic Center is slated for 2:00 p.m.