Salem, MA ---Salem State sophomore Bryan Ortiz (Salem, MA) poured in a team-high 17 points to pace five in double-figure scoring as he helped lead the third-seeded Vikings to an 86-74 triumph over #6 Worcester State in the opening round of the MASCAC Men's Basketball Tournament.
Salem State (16-10) advances to play #2 MCLA on Thursday in the semifinals at 7 PM while the Lancers see their season end at 12-14 overall.
SSU junior Hanell Valez (Woburn, MA) chipped in with 16 points and six rebounds while senior Tavone Wynder (Boston, MA/Newton South) also added 15 points and six boards.
Second-year Jamal McCollum (Boston, MA/Madison Park) and junior Andrew White (Medford, MA) registered 14 and 12 points, respectively, as McCollum corralled a team-high seven boards in the win for the Vikings.
Worcester State was paced by junior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) who notched his 17th double-double in 25 games with game-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds. He was 13-for-13 from the free throw line for the Lancers.
Third-year Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MO) tallied 22 points off an 11-for-18 effort from the field as senior Kyle Ferreira (Westport, MA) finished with 16 points on four three pointers.
Following five ties and six lead changes over the first 12 minutes of the opening frame, Salem State was sparked by a Valez trey and went on a 9-0 run to take a 33-25 advantage at the 6:21 mark.
The Blue and Gold got within two points twice, but Velez drilled another triple for the 40-35 lead at the intermission.
Salem State made seven of their first 11 shots to open up the second stanza as they increased their margin to 55-39 with 14:03 remaining in regulation.
As the Vikings led 61-47 at the midway point of the period, the Lancers used a 10-2 spurt to make it a six point game with 7:11 left on the back of a Jobst trifecta (63-57).
Ortiz and Wynder helped the hosts respond with a traditional three-point play and a trey, respectively, before Ferreira answered with a three-pointer of his own to help WSU trail 69-60 with 5:45 on the clock.
But the Vikings went back into double-digits and opened up a 14 point lead with 2:40 left. SSU also sealed the game with an 8-for-12 effort from the charity stripe to end the contest.
Salem State was tremendous from the field for the contest as they made almost half of their attempts (48 percent – 31-for-64) and they sizzled in the second half (61 percent – 17-for-28). SSU also held advantages in points in the paint (28-14) and points off turnovers (23-14).
The Lancers connected for a modest 39 percent for the game, but only drained seven of their 29 bids from downtown. The visitors also controlled the glass (40-38), the offensive backboards (17-12) and held a 17-14 lead in second-chance points.
Senior Monte Goodwin (Worcester, MA/Belmont) wrapped up his career second on the all-time list in blocked shots while Ferreira finished his two-year career with the Lancers averaging 3.44 assists in 50 games.
Freshman Alex Lopez's (Springfield, MA) assist total (111) is tied for sixth for the most in a single-campaign.