Men's Basketball Falls to Salem State, 89-75

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team fell to 1-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Saturday afternoon.

The Bears were outscored, 23-4, during a stretch of less than six minutes in the second half and were defeated by Salem State University, 89-75, at the Tinsley Center.

BSU and Salem State were tied at 52 after a 3-pointer by Bears' senior Louis Jennings (Walpoled, Mass.) with 14:09 remaining, but the Vikings took control after that with a run that lasted 5:39.

They opened a 75-56 advantage with 8:05 left and the Bears were unable to get any closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

BSU (3-10 overall) was playing its first home game since Dec. 10.

Salem State improved to 9-4 and is off to a 2-0 start in the MASCAC.

Jennings led BSU with 21 points, making 8 of 16 shots to go with five rebounds.

Senior Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) had 12 points with three 3-pointers and added six assists and three steals.

Junior Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) also scored 12 points and had a team-best seven rebounds with four assists, while junior Josh Campbell (Plymouth, Mass.) notched ten points (all in the second half) to go along with four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.

Senior Abdoul Bah (Lynn, Mass.) contributed five blocked shots, five assists and four rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench. Sam Sweeney (Burlington, Vt.) checked in with eight points, five offenive rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes off the pine.

The Vikings had all five starters score in double figures, led by freshman Jamel Walker (Worcester, Mass.) with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Sophomore Ali Berry (Lynn, Mass.) added 17 points, six rebounds, six assists, five steals and two blocks.

Freshman Raheim Orleans (Attleboro, Mass.) scored 14 points with eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Senior Tyrese Rho (Boston, Mass.) scored 13 points and senior Wil Martinez (Revere, Mass._ added 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Salem State shot 52 percent (33-for-64) and went 6-for-14 on 3-pointers while the Bears connected on 43 percent of their shots (29-for-68) and went 8-for-30 on 3-pointers (27 percent).

BSU turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 23 Salem State points.

There were nine lead changes and eight ties in the game with BSU's largest advantage being by four points.

A 3-pointer by Kikuba put the Bears in front, 8-4, 2:30 into the game. Layups by Bah and Jennings gave BSU a 29-25 lead with 6:59 to go in the half.

Sophomore Jamaal McConnell (Mattapan, Mass.) made two foul shots to give BSU a 36-32 advantage with 3:55 left in the half, but Salem State ended on an 11-4 run to take a 43-40 lead at the break.

The Bears fell behind,51-42, in the opening 3:41 of the second half after a layup by Walker, but BSU answered with a 10-1 run over 1:53 to pull even at 52.

Kikuba made a 3-pointer, Campbell hit a pair of layups and Jennings connected on a 3-pointer.

But BSU missed nine of its next 10 shots, getting only a layup by Campbell, and turned the ball over three times as Salem State went on its 23-4 run.

Senior Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) scored eight points and junior Omri Merryman (Lynn, Mass.) added six for the Vikings during run. Fifteen of the 23 points came on three-point plays. 

BSU will be on the road Wednesday at 7 p.m. to face MASCAC newcomer Anna Maria College.

Salem State is home Wednesday at 7 p.m. to go against Framingham State.