SALEM – (Videos – Photos – Link) Vinny Clifford (Danvers, Mass.) scored a game-high 24 points as Endicott pulled away in the second half for a 96-79 victory over Salem State on Tuesday evening at Twohig Gymnasium. The Gulls improve to 6-2 while the Vikings have their three-game winning streak snapped, and now stand at 7-3.
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Both teams struggled from the floor early as Endicott went just 2-8 from the floor (.250%) and Salem State 1-6 (.143%) in the opening six minutes. Clifford gave the Gulls a 9-3 lead at the 14:27 mark, hitting the first of his three first half treys. Turnovers plagued the Vikings, who could not find their rhythm on offense, after turning the ball over five times early. However, Jacob Lindland (Hamilton, Mass.) kept Salem State in the game, scoring 11 points in the first half off the bench. A Lindland three cut the deficit to two, 15-13 before a 16-5 run by Endicott pushed the lead to 31-18 after another three by Clifford with 6:12 left. Sean Bryan (Lowell, Mass.) helped Salem State claw their way back into the game, scoring eight points over the final five minutes as the Vikings managed to pull within three at 37-34 after a Lindland basket and subsequent free throw. A three-pointer from Joe Shehadi (Dorset, Vt.) with 14 seconds left propelled Endicott to a 40-36 halftime advantage. The Gulls shot 50% (15-30) from the field in the first half, including 60% (9-15) from behind the arc.
Alex Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) and Rayshaw Matthews (Boston, Mass.) gave Salem State its first lead 41-40 with back-to-back baskets in the opening minutes of the second half. Two three-balls by Keith Brown (Pelham, N.H.) and a pair of free throws from Nick Thibault (Gorham, Maine) put the Gulls back on top 48-41 before Salem State responded with a quick 7-1 spurt to pull within 49-48. The game remained tightly contested before a Clifford layup put the Gulls up 79-70 with 5:44 remaining. This time Endicott answered every Vikings’ challenge, as they maintained a double-digit lead over the stretch, before settling for a 96-79 victory.
Brown finished with 21 points and went 4-for-8 from three-point range as Endicott shot 15-28 (53.6%) for the game from behind the arc. Lindland had 20 points in just 21 minutes for the Vikings while Bryan added 17 points and seven boards. Matthews and Santos went for 12 and nine respectively while Drew Healy (Lowell, Mass.) had 14 rebounds. Salem State, which shot just 26-78 (33.3%) had 19 offensive rebounds, but just 11 second chance points.
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