SALEM—Shaquan Murray (Boston, MA) led the Vikings of Salem State with 16 points in their 91-60 rout against the Huskies of Southern Maine Friday evening in the final game of the 2016 Salem State Men’s Holiday Classic at Twohig Gymnasium. Murray earned MVP honors along with Southern Maine’s Zach Leal (York, ME), who scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Salem State evens their record at 6-6 while the Huskies fall to 4-7.
Marcus Faison (Cambridge, MA) got the offense rolling as he led the Vikings on a 9-0 run in the first minute-and-a-half of the game, forcing a Southern Maine timeout. Tyreik McCauley (Worcester, MA) also sparked another Salem State spurt minutes later when he knocked down a three from the left wing that started a 10-0 Salem State run to give the Vikings a healthy 21-6 lead with 12:32 remaining in the first half. Salem State’s defense also did a great job, forcing 12 Huskies’ turnovers that were converted into 13 points. Salem State then went on another run of eleven points that put them ahead 39-11, their largest margin of the half.
The Vikings’ depth was highlighted as McCauley added eight points off the bench, along with four rebounds and two assists before halftime. With McCauley and Faison dominating in the post, Murray led the guards with 14 points on 6-9 shooting. Salem State took a commanding 44-22 lead heading into halftime. Faison recorded a double-double in the half with 12 points and 11 boards.
The second half was all Salem State as they maintained a lead of no less than 19-points after Southern Maine’s Chris McCue (Hampden, ME) drilled a three. The Vikings final basket by Bryan Martinez-Rodriguez (Salem, MA) topped off the 31-point victory. Salem State got production from their whole team as five players scored in double digits. Alex Santos (Lawrence, MA) added 14 points on 4-6 shooting from beyond the arc while McCauley and freshmen Sean Bryan (Lowell, MA) combined for 21 points.
Faison finished the game with 16 points and 14 rebounds while Leal led the Huskies with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Endicott defeated Regis 79-67 in the earlier game.
SALEM — The Endicott men’s basketball team downed the Regis (Mass.) College Pride, 79-67, Friday night inside Twohig Gymnasium as part of the Salem St. Holiday Classic as head coach Kevin Bettencourt earned his 50th career coaching victory in his third season at the helm.
A back-and-forth affair early on lent itself to the Pride being up by as much as six with 2:24 remaining in the opening stanza, but the Gulls regained the lead and managed a 33-29 edge at the halftime break.
Endicott then built a lead as large as 14 with 11:43 to play before Regis chipped away down the stretch to bring the score within three (58-55 at 6:03), but was unable to overcome the Gulls’ second half surge.
Freshman guard Keith Brown (Pelham, N.H.) scored a career-high 15 points off the bench to lead the Gulls in scoring, as he hit 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls placed five student-athletes in double figures as senior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.), senior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.), senior guard Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.), and senior forward Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) joined Brown in the double-digit scoring column with 13, 12, 12, and 11 points respectively.
- Senior forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
- Walker dished out a game-high seven assists to match his season-high total.
- Walker currently has made 501 career field goals, as his 5-of-11 showing from the floor tonight helped him move into third all-time, surpassing John Henault ’15.
- Walker also jumped Henault ’15 for fourth all-time in career field goals attempted, with 1,100 to his name to date.
- 12 points is a season-high for Sawyer.
- Endicott produced a season-high 22 assists in the victorious effort.
FOR THE FOES
- The Pride also had five student-athletes in double figures, headlined by sophomore guard Ademola Afonja’s (Staten Island, N.Y.) double-double of a tied-for-game-high 15 points and a floor-best 11 rebounds.
- Senior forward Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) (13 points, team-high six assists) and senior forward Jaiwon Martin (Coral Springs, Fla.) (11 points) were joined in double digits with 10 points apiece from senior forward Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) and sophomore guard Jordan Seldon (Everett, Mass.).
- Regis has lost three games in a row.
NOTES
- Endicott is 3-2 in the all-time series against the Pride, dating back to the 2008 season.
- Regis won the most recent meeting before today, 68-63, in Beverly, Mass. on 02/05/2011.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (8-2, 3-0 CCC) is off until the Gulls open 2017 by welcoming Wentworth Institute of Technology to Beverly, Mass. on Tuesday, January 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Regis (3-6,1-1 NECC)is inactive until the Pride ring in 2017 with a home contest against UMass Boston on Tuesday, January 3 at 5:00 p.m.
Salem State Women’s Basketball
SALEM – Kara Holinksi (Livonia, MI) earned MVP honors of the 2016 Salem State Women’s Holiday Tournament, scoring 30 points in MIT’s 72-45 triumph over Salem State in the championship game Friday afternoon at Twohig Gymnasium. Taylor V’Dovec (Blaine, WA) joined Holinski on the all-tournament team, collecting 23 points while Kaitlyn Bryan (Lowell, MA), who added 15 points, represented the Vikings. MIT climbed to 9-2 with the win while Salem State dropped to 8-5.
MIT’s efficient offense took command early in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 19-3 lead in the first eight minutes of the contest. Holinski led the Engineers offensively with 20 points in the first half, five of which came during that 19-3 run. MIT dominated both in the post and outside as they shot 5-13 from beyond the arc and outscored Salem State 8-2 in the first quarter with points in the paint.
However, Salem State’s offense began clicking in the second quarter as they cut the deficit to just eight after a short 7-0 run sparked by a Kia Fernades (Wenham, MA) three-pointer to open the quarter. The Vikings’ defense forced 10 MIT turnovers which they converted into six points.
V’Dovec started a 9-0 run with a mid-range jumper that gave MIT an 18-point lead at 38-20 with just over a minute left in the half. After a Kate Lipka (Peabody, MA) jump shot, Salem State headed into the locker room down 38-24.
After outscoring the Engineers 18-17 in the second quarter, Salem State’s production on the offensive end decreased severely in the second half as they shot just 8-27. This allowed MIT to gain some separation on the scoreboard as they built a 20-point advantage four minutes into the second half after a pair of V’Dovec made free throws. V’Dovec had a huge half for the Engineers, scoring 17 points on a perfect 6-6 from the floor. The closest Salem State would come was at the 7:33 mark of the third quarter when a Bryan layup cut the deficit to 16. MIT pushed the lead to as large as 27-points with 4:39 in the fourth quarter after a Sophie Gershon (New York, NY) layup. The Engineers maintained the double-digit lead while cruising to a 72-45 victory.
Dolly Yuan (San Jose, CA) added 11 points, including shooting 3-5 from beyond the arc. The Vikings’ Fernandes finished with 11 points.
MIT’s season will resume on Jan. 4 when they take on the Bears of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at 7:30 p.m. Salem State will dive into conference play on Jan. 4 when they travel to Framingham State to take on the Rams at 8:00 p.m.
