FREDERICK, Md.—The Hood College men's basketball team (4-1, 1-0 CAC) won its first ever game against a ranked opponent downing No. 20 Salisbury (4-1, 0-1 CAC) 67-55. In front of a raucous crowd that packed the newly opened BB&T Arena, Hood made the night a memorable one and went to 2-0 in its new basketball home.

Salisbury was downed for the first time this season and was upset the week after they pulled off a shocker by defeating then No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan. Cameron Cook led all scorers in the game with 19 as he continued his strong start to his sophomore campaign.  Junior Justin Stone also had his best scoring game of the young season tallying 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and also hauled in eight boards. Freshman Adrien Straughn also had a very productive game for the Blazers as he came up just short of a triple-double with eight points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.

Hood started out fast as it got off to a 10-0 lead to begin the game. It took Salisbury nearly six minutes to score its first points of the game with free throws by Jason Nwoso. Hood ended the first half with a 19-5 run, including a 30 foot heave by senior guard Ramon Smith that gave Hood a 37-22 halftime lead and sent the crowd at BB&T into a frenzy.

The jubilation did not last long for the home crowd as Salisbury dug out of its first half hole and made just about everything to start the second half. In the first nine minutes of the second half Salisbury scored more points than the entire first half. Mike Maczko hit two three-pointers in back to back possessions to help key the run. Salisbury outscored Hood 24-8 for the first nine minutes of the second half and took the lead for the first time in the game at 46-44 with 11:12 remaining in the game.

Cook made one of his four threes on the game to retake the lead at 47-46 and Hood would not relinquish it the rest of the game. Stone had a sweet reverse layup to continue Hood's run but the Blazers would win the game on the defensive end. Straughn had a powerful block at the 9:05 mark that erupted the crowd and, as well as Salisbury shot to begin the half, it could not make anything to end it. Salisbury only scored nine points in the last 11 minutes of the game as the Blazers' defense stifled the Sea Gulls' attack.

Trent Epps paced Salisbury scoring 17 points, but he was the only player to reach double figures. Hood continued to hit shots as Straughn seemed to put the game out of reach with a floater in the lane to give Hood a 64-51 lead with just over a minute remaining. Hood finished the game with a few free throws to get the 67-55 victory.

Lost in all the madness of the game was this was Hood's first conference victory of the year. The Blazers wanted to send a message to the rest of the conference with a strong showing against a ranked Salisbury side and they did not disappoint. When asked how it felt to beat the 20th-ranked Sea Gulls, Stone said, "It feels great. As a college basketball player that is what you play for. It was even better knowing that they had beaten the number one team in the land as well." This was certainly a satisfying victory for Stone and the Blazers and one that will stay in the record books.

Hood hits the road for its second conference game of the year this Saturday when it travels to Wesley for a 4 p.m. tip.