Men's MASCAC Basketball Tournament Bracket
Salem, MA --- Salem State used a couple of big runs in the first half to jump out to a big lead, then used another second-half surge to put away Worcester State in a 91-68 drubbing Saturday night at O'Keefe Gymnasium.
The Vikings won their 15th straight game to improve to 19-6 (11-1 MASCAC), and solidified their position as the top seed heading into next week's conference tournament.
Despite the setback the Lancers (6-19, 4-8 MASCAC) are still eligible for the MASCAC Tournament as the sixth seed as they will play #3 Bridgewater State on the road on Tuesday at 7 PM.
SSU overcame a sluggish start—the Vikings scored just six points in the game's first six minutes—and took control with a 13-4 run to jump ahead 19-11 with 11 minutes remaining. Justin Nieves (Lawrence, MA) and Brian Clark (Deerfield, MA) each hit a pair of jumpers to spur the surge.
WSU drew within four at 21-17, but the Vikings tore off 16 of the next 18 points to take their largest lead of the half, 37-19. Dan Clark (Deerfield, MA) and Brennan Bennett (Northridge, MA) each drilled three-pointers to stake SSU to the big lead, and the Vikings coasted into halftime ahead 43-28. Salem State hit 63% (17-27) from the field, including 5-8 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
The Lancers mounted a charge in the opening minutes of the second half, whittling the deficit to six, 47-41 five minutes in. Frank Stephenson (Fall River, MA) hit a three and Monte Goodwin (Boston, MA) had six points to key the 13-4 skein. The Vikings then proceeded to put things out of reach, exploding on a 21-5 burst to lead 68-46 with nine minutes left. Tavone Wydner (Boston, MA) nailed a pair of threes during the streak, and the Vikings were never seriously threatened again.
Brain Clark led the Vikings with 19 points on 9-12 shooting, and he added 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Tristian Shannon (Andover, MA) had 14 points and a game-high 8 rebounds, while Apollos Wade (Taunton, MA) finished with a game-high nine assists, despite not scoring.
The Lancers were led by Goodwin's 25 points on 11-15 shooting. Worcester State was victimized by 21 turnovers, and the Lancers shot just 11-19 (58%) from the free-throw line.
Major Portions of Release Courtesy of Salem State Sports Information