Men’s Basketball Suffers 104-92 Loss to Salem State in MASCAC Opener

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University men's basketball team suffered a 104-92 loss to the Vikings of Salem State Saturday afternoon in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) opener.

THE BASICS

January 6, 2018

Lancer Gymnasium

Score: Salem State 104, Worcester State 92

Records: Salem State (10-3, 1-0 MASCAC) | Worcester State (1-12, 0-1 MASCAC)

1^ST HALF

Worcester State took the first lead of the game on a Will Watkins Jr. (Southbridge, Mass.) jumper 1:19 in on an assist from Joe Desormier (Granby, Mass.). Salem State's Alex Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) matched it with a layup on the next possession. Free throws from Desormier and a layup from Shaun McCarthy (Oxford, Mass.) gave the Lancers a 4-point lead until Salem State came back with two consecutive triples from Santos and Shaquan Murray (Boston, Mass.) to take their first lead of the game and ignite an 11-0 run, forcing a Worcester State timeout.

Succeeding the Worcester timeout, Bryson Gulley (Mattapan, Mass.) came out with a bucket, but the Vikings persisted and went on another run led by Drew Healy (Lowell, Mass.) to cause the Lancers to break again. Salem State maintained a 10-plus advantage until Worcester State's Manny Green (Boston, Mass.) gave the Lancers a 7-0 rush with a triple to get within four with nine minutes on the clock. Though, the Vikings came back and saw an 11-point advantage with three minutes to go in the half. The half concluded with a score of 49-36 in favor of Salem State.

2^ND HALF

Salem State burst out of the locker rooms with six points from Healy and Murry to see their largest margin of the game at 19. Watkins Jr. broke the scoring with a triple, leading the Lancers to a 16-0 run to make it a 3-point game with 16 minutes to go. Worcester State got within two and then tied up the score at 56-56 on back-to-back layups from McCarthy. Sean Bryan (Lowell, Mass.) gave the Vikings the lead once again on a triple and added to it with a layup seconds later to put the score at 61-56.

With 11:30 to go in the game, Gulley pulled up and made a triple to make it a 1-point game. Worcester State got within one three more times in the next five minutes of play, but Salem State pushed away with six minutes left on the clock and left the Lancers behind to come out on top 104-92.

COUNT ME IN

• Murray, Tyreik McCauley (Worcester, Mass.) and Bryan combined for 65 Viking points. Murray saw a game-high 23 points, McCauley recorded a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Bryan recorded 20 points and a game-high seven assists.
• Healy was one rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds for Salem State.
• Worcester State's scoring was led by Watkins Jr. who had 23 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
• McCarthy put up 18 points, Gulley had 14 points, and Howes scored 12.
• Emeka Eguatu (Worcester, Mass.) led the Lancers in the rebounding category with 11.
• Salem State held the edge in field goal percentage, 49.3%-47.6% while each team shot 34.8% from beyond the arc.
• Salem State shot 75% from the charity stripe, while Worcester State went 24-37 (64.9%).
• Half of Salem State's points were scored in the paint.
• The game saw two ties and one lead change.

UP NEXT

Worcester State's next contest is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 8 when they travel to Sage for a 4 p.m. affair. Salem State hosts Fitchburg State in a 7:30 p.m. MASCAC game on Wednesday, Jan. 10.

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