SALEM –– Salem State emerged victorious by a score of 103-56 against Lesley on Thursday night at Twohig Gymnasium in a milestone win for head coach Chris Harvey. The Vikings improve to 2-1 while the Lynx slip to 1-3. Coach Harvey, who began his coaching career at Lasell (2000-05); compiled a 104-36 record for the Lasers, has accumulated 246 wins for the Vikings since taking over in 2007.
Salem State’s Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) and Nicholas Martinez (Revere, Mass.) scored 26 points
each, leading their team to victory. Nicholas Martinez (Revere, Mass.) was an impressive 10-of-12 from the field and also had five steals, Makiej contributed with three blocks. Liam Byrne ( Melrose, Mass.) supported the team with seven rebounds. On the other hand, Lesley’s Malachi Howard (Winter Haven, Fl.) scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Tarell Joseph (Hempstead, NY) went 4-for-7 from the floor and had nine points.
Nicholas Martinez scored the first two baskets of the game, helping Salem State establish a 6-2 lead. Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.) and LJ Hicks (Gardner, Mass.) then shot back-to-back three-pointers, extending the Vikings’ lead and sparking a 16-0 run. The highlight of this run was Castillo’s eight points, which helped Salem State achieve a 23-4 advantage. The Vikings continued to dominate the game, pushing the lead to 26 points until Kai Burridge (New York, NY) ended the Vikings’ impressive run with a three-pointer.
However, Lesley University fought back with a 5-0 run, forcing Coach Harvey to call a thirty-second timeout. After the timeout, Salem State regrouped, and Makiej took charge of the game, scoring eleven out of the next thirteen points.
At halftime, Salem State held a comfortable sixteen-point lead, by a score of 45-29. Makiej led the team with 17 points, shooting 6-10 from the field, with four assists, while Byrne had an impressive six rebounds. For Lesley, Howard scored 13 points, picked up five rebounds, and shot 5-8 from the field, while Christian Castro (Chesapeake, VA.) had three assists in the half.
In the second half, Lesley hoped to make a comeback, but Salem State started slow and was playing sluggishly in the opening minutes. Coach Harvey motivated his team from the sideline, and it paid off. With fifteen minutes left to play, Salem State was leading 60-39, and Makiej caught fire, scoring 26 points with just 14 minutes left during the game. He also made an impressive defensive play by denying Alexander Curtis’ shot from the right side of the court. Nicholas Martinez continued his impressive performance by shooting a three-pointer, extending the Vikings’ lead to 75-50 with ten minutes left during the game. This sparked an 18-2 run for the Vikings, who were in complete control of the game. However, at the 4:00 minute mark, both Madison McCall (Bristol, R.I.) and Burke Kennedy (Brooklyn, NY) were called for technical fouls.
With just minutes left on the clock, Juvens Louis (Everett, Mass,) stole the ball and sprinted towards the net, dunking the ball as the crowd went wild. At the end, Salem State held on to their lead and won the game by an impressive score of 103-56.
