Men's Basketball Falls to MASCAC Foe Salem State, 75-66

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior forward Marcus Faison (Cambridge, Mass.) posted a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the visiting Salem State University men's basketball team to a 75-66 victory over Bridgewater State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

The Vikings improve to 10-7 on the season and remain unbeaten in conference play with a perfect 4-0 MASCAC mark. The Bears slip to 5-10 overall and 1-2 in the MASCAC.

Faison connected on 9 of 12 field goal attempts and four of 11 boards came off the offensive glass. Freshman guard Zach Hurynowicz (Burlington, Mass.) added 15 points and four rebounds for the Vikings while sophomore guard Shaquan Murray (Boston, Mass.) chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Junior guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) paced the host Bears with a game-high 23 points on 10 of 15 shooting to go along with six boards. Classmate Patrick McGuinness (New City, N.Y.) tallied 13 points, two rebounds and a pair of steals in 26 minutes off the bench, while sophomore guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.) checked in with ten points, three boards and a game-high five assists.

Down 13-9 early in the contest, Salem State used a 13-0 run to open up a 22-13 lead with 8:28 remaining in the first half. A Greg Romanko (Mansfield, Mass.) three-pointer ended a five-minute BSU scoring drought. Following a Viking technical foul, Romanko knocked down 1 of 2 free throws and DeAndrade converted a layup to pull the Bears to within three (22-19) with seven and a half minutes left in the opening stanza.

A Dennis Bailer (Lynn, Mass.) layup was answered by another Romanko trifecta as BSU closed to within two (24-22). The Bears had two chances to knot the score but could not convert. The Vikings took advantage of the missed BSU opportunity as Hurynowicz ripped off eight straight points to give the visitors a double-digit advantage (32-22) as the clock ticked under three minutes. Salem would ultimately take a 39-32 lead into the break.

Hurynowicz led all scorers with 11 first-half points, while Faison added nine. Mass and Romanko tallied seven points apiece over the first 20 minutes to pace the Bears.

Salem's lead fluctuated between six and 11 points over the first 11 minutes of the second half. A driving layup by junior guard Shyheim Davis (Boston, Mass.) at the 8:43 mark gave the Vikings a 13-point advantage (60-47). DeAndrade knocked down a three-pointer in transition to make it a ten-point game and, following a stop, McGuinness converted a traditional three-point play to pull the Bears to within seven, 62-55, as the clocked ticked under seven minutes.

A Murray layup pushed the Viking lead back up to nine, but DeAndrade drained another trifecta in transition to cut the BSU deficit to 64-58 with 5:52 remaining. A little over a minute later, DeAndrade knocked down a foul line jumper to make it a four-point game (64-60). The Bears had a chance to get even closer two possessions later but missed the front end of a one-on-one. The Vikings then ripped off eight straight points on layups by sophomore center Drew Healy (Lowell, Mass.), Hurynowicz and Davis and a pair of Brendan Bouthillette (Billerica, Mass.) free throws to put the game out of reach.

Salem shot 50% (27-54) from the floor and converted 16 of 21 (76%) free throw attempts. The Vikings also knocked 5 of 10 (50%) three-point tries and out-rebounded the Bears by a margin of 46-29. Bridgewater shot just 37% (25-67) for the game, including 7-for-22 (32%) from behind the arc. The Bears also finished just 9-for-17 (53%) at the charity stripe.

The MASCAC schedule resumes for both teams on Wednesday evening. The Bears will take on Worcester State University at eight as the game will be played at Fitchburg State's Parkinson Gymnasium. The Vikings entertain Westfield State University at 7:30.