Rally Falls Short in Men's Basketball's 85-81 Loss to Salem State

SALEM, Mass. - Salem State nearly saw a 14-point second half lead evaporate, but the Vikings withstood a pair of furious rallies to defeat Bridgewater State 85-81 Saturday afternoon in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) tilt at James Twohig Gymnasium.

Brian Clark (Deerfield, Mass.) scored 20 points and Tristian Shannon (Andover, Mass,) added 18, as the Vikings won their fourth straight to improve to 8-6 overall, 3-1 in MASCAC play. The Bears fell to 10-6, 3-2.

Leading 43-35 at the half, SSU increased its bulge to 14 with a 10-4 run to start the second stanza. Clark had a dunk and an athletic follow-tip of a Justine Nieves' (Lawrence, Mass.) miss to spur the run. The Vikings kept their lead an arm's length for the next 10 minutes, and had a 66-56 advantage with 10 minutes left when Bridgewater State roared back. Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Corey Connor (Providence, R.I.) each drilled threes, sandwiched around a Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, Mass.) three-point play, and with 6:46 remaining, the Bears had cut the deficit to 68-67.

Salem State righted the ship, and after Dan Clark (Deerfield, Mass.) buried a three and Shannon added a hoop, the Vikings seemed in control, 82-73 with 1:51 remaining. The Bears fought back again, and when Anthony Fortes (East Providence, R.I.) hit a three-pointer, they were within three, 84-81. BSU got the ball back after Nieves missed the front-end of a one-and-one, but Motta missed a driving layup with 11 seconds left, and Shannon hit one of two free throws to secure the win for the Vikings.

Motta led all scorers with 27 points, including 18 in the second half. He also added five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.  Bridgewater State was playing without leading scorer Judah Jackson (16.9 ppg), who was injured in the Bears' previous contest. Ryser added a season-high 19 points, as he was 8-9 from the floor, including 3-3 from beyond the arc.  Connor chipped in with 14 points and five assists.

Apollos Wade (Taunton, Mass.) controlled the game for the Vikings, and despite scoring just six points, he dished out seven assists, grabbed seven rebounds, and committed just two turnovers. In addition to Clark and Shannon, Tavone Wynder (Boston, Mass.) reached double figures, with 11 points. Shannon grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

Both teams shot extremely well, with Salem State hitting 51% from the floor (6-16 from three-point range), and Bridgewater State converting 55% (8-17 from downtown). The Vikings dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bears 35-26.

The Vikings took control of a see-saw game midway through the first half, using a 16-4 run to take the lead for good. Trailing 15-12 with 14 minutes remaining, SSU reeled off eight straight points, including consecutive threes from Shannon and Clark. After an Andrew Kelley (Mansfield, Mass.) jumper cut the Viking lead to 20-17, Clark drilled a three, and when Jamal McCollum (Boston, Mass.) converted a traditional three-point play, SSU held a 28-19 edge with just under seven minutes left in the half. Back-to-back- threes by Riser and Connor cut the deficit to three, but the Vikings recovered to take a 43-35 lead into the locker room.

SSU returns to action Tuesday night when it travels to MASCAC foe Worcester State. Bridgewater State steps out of conference and visits Trinity (CT) on Monday.

Notes: With his 27 points, Motta increased his career scoring total to 1,218 as he moved past Paul Sargent (1,200 pts) into 15th place on the Bears' all-time scoring list.