Worcester State Falls to Vikings in Final Second Push

Worcester, MA- After a repeat win over MCLA on Tuesday night the #3 seed, Worcester State Lancers (13-13, 9-3) will now journey to the #2 Salem State Vikings (11-14, 8-4), who were awarded the first round by, in a battle to return to their fifth straight MASCAC Championship appearance and claim their third straight conference championship.

Final

Worcester State: 74

Salem State: 77

How it Happened:

The third meeting between these teams this year kicked off as expected with each team matching basket for basket with minor runs on either side. Neither defense was willing to allow the other out of sight as they kept a right pressure on the night. Junior Shawn Hebert (Ayer, MA) would be the first to strike in the game to kick off this court battle. The Vikings would begin their scoring with a small run but senior Brandon Goris (Bronx, NY) would settle the game down while sophomore Jaylen Kirkland (Gardner, MA) would give the Lancers their next lead of the game that they would hold onto into a 39-34 halftime lead. 

The second half would find more of the same for both teams as the Vikings pushed back into the lead early in the second. The Lancers would work to match the Vikings surge but Salem's defense held strong while their offense would extend their lead to 11 points. Worcester would use the final 10 minutes to cut into Salem's lead, slowly chipping away into the Viking defensive structure, but even with a well connected offense, Salem was able to hold off the late surge to claim the 77-74 victory.

Kirkland would lead Worcester on the night with 17 points while first year Camdyn Shoesmith (Bedford, MA) would claim the double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.