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SALEM — Shaquan Murray (Boston, MA) anchored the Vikings’ offense with 23 points as Salem State Men’s Basketball surged past the Pride of Regis College 75-68 Thursday night on the first day of the 2016 Salem State Holiday Classic. Salem State also snaps a five-game losing streak as they improve to 5-6 on the season while the Pride fall to 3-5.
The Vikings got off to a slow start on both sides of the ball as they went scoreless for the first four minutes of the contest. Meanwhile, the Pride jumped out to a 13-3 lead to start the game after Marcus Faison (Cambridge, MA) ended the scoring drought. Regis reached a 15-point lead at 23-8 with 8:06 on the clock after Josh Germain (Pembroke Pines, FL) made a layup in transition.
The tide began to turn when Temi Bailey (W. Springfield, MA) entered the game with his rebounding and tenacious defense. Bailey, who had six first half points, sparked a 16-0 run that gave Salem State their first lead of the game at 24-23 after Shaquan Murray (Boston, MA) knocked down a three-pointer in transition. Salem State struggled from beyond the arc in the first half as they shot just 27% from the field. In fact, both teams looked to the post for the majority of their scoring as Regis outscored the Vikings 20-16 with points in the paint. Julio Galay (Bronx, NY) made a final second layup in transition to put the Pride ahead 27-26 heading into the half.
After trading baskets and leads for the first ten minutes of the second half, Salem State took control as they went on a 10-0 run that gave them a 63-51 lead with 7:30 remaining. Regis battled back to get within five after a Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, NY) layup with 3:25 on the clock. With both teams in the bonus in the final minutes, offensive possessions were more valuable with both teams ability to get to the free throw. The Pride took advantage as they got back to within two after a pair of Jordan Seldon (Everett, MA) free throws with a minute left. However, Salem State ran out the clock while making their free throws to close out the 75-68 victory.
Faison, who finished with ten rebounds, and Alex Santos (Lawrence, MA) added 10 points while Afonja and Seldon led the Pride with 13 points apiece.
Salem State will face-off against Southern Maine at 7:00 p.m. while the Pride play Endicott College at 5:00 p.m.
SALEM — The Endicott men’s basketball team bested the University of Southern Maine Huskies, 73-62, Thursday night inside Twohig Gymnasium to begin the Salem St. Holiday Classic.
Endicott picked right back up after the holiday hiatus as senior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) poured in a team-high 20 points to lead the way in a game in which the Gulls never trailed.
Senior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) moved into second on the program’s all-time leading scorer list as his trey at the 10:56 mark of the first half officially surpassed the milestone.
Endicott scored a season-high 49 points in the first half and built a lead as large as 26 with 19:29 remaining in the game.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Walker now has 1,509 career points, as his 19 points tonight enabled him to surpass Nemanja Marinkovic’s ’07 and John Henault’s ’15 previous mark of 1,495 for second all-time.
- Walker currently has attempted 446 career free throws, as his 3-of-4 effort at the line tonight moved him into third all-time in career attempts, surpassing Eric Simonelli’s ’01 mark of 444.
- Senior forward Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.) pulled down nine rebounds (tied for game-high) as the Gulls out-rebounded the Huskies, 43-39.
- Motroni has registered four games this season with 20+ points, with 20+ outbursts in four of the past five contests.
- Motroni moved into 10th place on the all-time scoring list surpassing Jeremy Currier ’04 with 1,166 career points.
FOR THE FOES
- Senior guard Zach Leal (York, Maine) scored a game-high 25 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
- Senior forward James Starks III (Miami, Fla.) grabbed nine rebounds (tied for game-high) and added 15 points.
- The Huskies out-scored Endicott, 37-24, in the second half.
NOTES
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Endicott is 2-0 against the Huskies in the all-time series dating back to the first-ever meeting on 11/16/2006 in Beverly, Mass. when the Gulls won, 53-46.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (7-2, 3-0 CCC) takes on Regis (Mass.) on Friday, December 30 at 5:00 p.m. to close out the 2016 calendar in the Salem St. Holiday Classic.
University of Southern Maine (4-6, 0-2 LEC) battles host Salem St. to wrap up Salem St. Holiday Classic at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 30.
SALEM—Kaitlyn Bryan (Lowell, MA) topped all scorers with 29 points as she led the Salem State Women’s Basketball team past the Spartans of D’Youville University, 72-61 Thursday afternoon on the first day of the 2016 Salem State Holiday’s Women’s Tournament. The Salem State Vikings improved to 8-4 on the season while the Spartans evened their record at 4-4. The Vikings will face-off against the Engineers of MIT Friday afternoon in the championship game at 3:00 PM. The Spartans will play Bates in the consolation game at 1:00 PM tomorrow.
Throughout the first half, the two sides battled for the lead as it changed three times. Salem State relied heavily on their perimeter shooting despite shooting a mere 1-11 from three-point range. In fact, both teams struggled shooting the ball as the Spartans only shot 29% from the field while the Vikings’ shot 26%. Kaitlyn Bryan (Lowell, MA) paced the Salem State offense with 11 points in the first half, including shooting 4-5 from the free throw line.
It was a battle in the paint as D’Youville edged the Vikings’ 16-14 as Jean-Ann Korona (Washingtonville, NY) led the Spartans with 11 points, which included a three ball at the 2:24 mark in first quarter that gave D’Youville a 13-12 lead. Salem State looked to Kia Fernades (Wareham, MA) in the post as she collected eight points in the first half, all coming from inside. D’Youville edged the Vikings 24-21 at halftime.
Salem State began to close the margin midway through the third quarter when they scored three straight fastbreak buckets from Saran Kaba (Dorchester, MA) and Bryan. Back-to-back three-pointers by Korona gave the Spartans a 33-25, but foul trouble forced Korona to the bench as the Vikings climbed back into the game. Kaba played a vital role in the second half as she scored all of her 16 points after halftime. Kaba led the defense as well by applying constant pressure to the Spartans’ ball handlers as she picked up seven steals on the night. Bryan knotted the game at 45-45 after knocking down a mid range jumper and getting to the foul line for two easy points. Kaba set up Bryan on the next possession for a three-pointer that gave the Vikings’ their first lead since the first quarter.
The Vikings’ success on the offensive end was due to their aggressive play on the defensive end that allowed them to collect 16 points off Spartan turnovers in the third quarter as they scored 31 points in 10 minutes. In the fourth, D’Youville had a difficult time scoring as the Vikings held them to just 12 points while Salem State added 20. The Vikings closed the game on a 7-0 run that secured the 72-61 win.
Korona led the Spartans with 26 points and seven rebounds while Monica June (Buffalo, NY) added 10 points off the bench.
Fernades added 13 points as she joined Bryan and Kaba for scorers with double digits.
