BYUH basketball team loses center Salisbury

Advertiser Staff

The 13th-ranked Brigham Young-Hawai'i men's basketball team will be without one of its top players for the rest of the regular season as senior center Scott Salisbury recovers from a fractured larynx sustained during a Feb. 12 game.

Salisbury was accidentally elbowed in the throat early in the game against Hawai'i Pacific at the Blaisdell Arena. He finished the game and led the Seasiders to a 70-61 overtime victory, scoring five of his 16 points in overtime.

Doctors said the injury could be life-threatening if his larynx collapsed and shut off airways, school officials said.

"I've never sat out a game before and to sit out the last few games of my senior season, I am in shock," said Salisbury, who is second on the school's consecutive games played list at 98. "However, it's frightening, too. To run the risk of dying makes you lose your tough-guy image in a hurry."

Salisbury, a 6-foot-8 all-Pacific West Conference player, is averaging 15.9 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. He is tentatively scheduled to have surgery on Feb. 27 and could rejoin the team for the NCAA II Elite Eight next month if the Seasiders advance.

The Seasiders lead the six-team PacWest and have seven regular season games remaining. BYUH will play second-place Hawai'i-Hilo tonight and tomorrow.