Worcester, MA- After a thrilling second half point surge on Wednesday versus Bridgewater State, the Worcester State Men's Basketball team (10-12, 7-2) heads Salem State looking to grab a late season win and work to solidify their top two seeding finish for the postseason. With Salem one of the Lancers two conference losses so far this season, a win over the Vikings would help Worcester State grab the first round bye in the MASCAC Tournament that starts in just over a week.
Final-OT
Worcester State: 104
Salem State: 99
How it Happened:
At the start of the game sophomore Jaylen Kirkland (Gardner, MA) and Shawn Hebert (Ayer, MA) would drill back to back threes to give the Lancers an early lead in the game. A steal from Kirkland would give senior Brandon Goris (Bronx, NY) an opportunity for a three which he would hit with minimal effort and keep the Worcester State momentum strong. After a back and forth game within the first few minutes the Lancers offense exploded, going on a 16-2 run and forcing a Salem State timeout. The run would go to 22-2 before a 3 pointer by the Vikings ended it but kept Worcester in a comfortable lead in the final minutes of the first half. Goris would drop 17 in the first half as the Lancer carried a 51-40 lead into halftime .
The second half began with Worcester starting off slow but holding on to their lead. Shortly after Salem State went on a massive run 15-5 of their own which would ultimately give them the lead and the Lancers first half momentum was stuttering. However, Worcester would answer back with a 3 pointer from Kirkland as the Lancers regained the lead by 5. An intense end to the second half would see the Vikings and Lancers trading points and Salem briefly re grab the lead before a senior Suubi Nkugwa (Chelmsford, MA) jumper would tie the game after a two points from the free throw line that would force overtime tied 88-88.
Overtime would see Goris snagging the first points for the Lancers driving to the rim to keep it tied. A back and forth overtime would ensure as Worcester snagged back to back two pointers with Goris again in the clutch taking the lead for Worcester 98-96 with 1:30 left. The Lancers would hold Salem State to only three points for the final minutes and win a thriller in OT 104-99 to split the series with the Vikings.
Goris would record a career high 41 points in the game, falling just a rebound shy of a double in the game.
What's Next:
The Lancers (11-12, 8-2) return to action on Wednesday when they travel for the final regular season game of the season to Framingham State for
a 5:30pm tip off.