The University of Mary Washington men's basketball team dropped a 78-70 decision against 15th ranked Salisbury University on Thursday to fall to 6-6 on the season, and 2-3 in Capital Athletic Conference action. The Eagles were led by an all-around effort from Jacob Williams, who scored 11 points, grabbed seven boards, and dished out three assists.

The Eagles got off to a hot start, jumping to a 9-2 lead in the first 2:39 of action. John Lutkenhaus drilled a three-pointer to open the game, and followed up with a pair of free throws, while Eric Shaw added two free throws of his own, and Austin Hall posted a layup.

Salisbury responded with a 14-7 run, tying the game at 16-16 with 11:39 left in the half. The Sea Gulls continued to stay hot offensively, and jumped to a 33-23 lead with 3:26 left in the first. The Eagles answered, going on a huge 11-3 run to end the half, cutting the deficit to 36-34. The run was fueled by four points from Williams, three from Lutkenhaus, and two each from Shaw and Johnny Cronin.

In the second, a Shaw layup cut the Salisbury lead to 40-39 with 16:56 left in the game. Both teams exchanged buckets until a dunk from Alexander Brayboy knotted the score at 50-50. Salisbury answered the Eagles by going on a 15-3 run to go up 65-53 with 6:27 left in the contest.

Down the stretch, a pair of Shaw free throws cut the lead 71-62 with 2:57 left. Hall then nailed a three-pointer to make it a two-possession game with 1:35 remaining. After a Salisbury layup, Hall hit another triple to cut the deficit to five with just over a minute left. The Sea Gulls knocked down their free throws at the end of the game to cap the scoring at 78-70.

Mary Washington shot 46.3% from the field (25-54), making 7-18 three-pointers and 13-17 free throws. Salisbury shot 43.1% from the field (28-65), making 7-28 three-pointers and 15-19 free throws. The Eagles held a 39-32 edge in rebounding.

The Eagles return to action on Saturday when they visit Penn State-Harrisburg in another CAC contest at 3:00 pm.