Salisbury, MD - In an away competition with Capital Athletic Conference foe the Salisbury SeaGulls (6-17, 4-10), the Villa Julie Men's Basketball Team (6-17, 4-10) struggled to overpower their opponent, suffering a close 79-72 loss.

Putting the first two points on the scoreboard, Greg Woody (Baltimore, MD/ Mt. St. Joseph) hit a jumper within the first minute of play. At 11:41, a three-point play from Chaise Lancaster (Bowie, MD/ Northwestern) brought the score to 12-7 with Villa Julie five points behind the home team.

Still playing catch-up, the Mustangs received help from Greg Collins (Baltimore, MD/ Western Tech.), who hit two free throws with just under eight minutes in the half to bring the Mustangs within four points of Salisbury's men. The Sea Gulls went on to end the period with an eight-point advantage at 30-22.

Villa Julie continued to play hard, as the teams stood neck-and-neck at the start of the second half. Woody opened the period with two free throws within the first minute and followed them with a 3-pointer to bring the score to 32-27. At 15:17, Jeremy Bernard (Baltimore, MD/ Western Tech.) hit a layup, which narrowed the scoring gap to just three points.

Two free throws from Lancaster boosted the Mustangs two points ahead of Salisbury with 11 minutes left in the game, and the team pushed to hold onto the lead. But the SeaGulls soon went on to take the lead again. Villa Julie tried to pull it out, but was just short of victory as the buzzer sounded.

Woody earned the team high of 28 points, while Collins racked up 13. Lancaster and Matt Leddy (Great Mills, MD/ Great Mills) totaled 9 points each, and Ely Richardson (Hartford, CT/ Suffield Academy) grabbed the most total rebounds for the team with eight.

Returning home on Wednesday, Feb. 20, the Mustangs will face Hood College at 8 p.m.