Salem — Marcus Faison (Cambridge, MA) anchored the Vikings’ offense with 11 points and 17 rebounds as Salem State defeated the Rams of Framingham State 65-55 in Wednesday night’s MASCAC opener at Twohig Gymnasium. The Vikings earn their first win in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play and even their record at 7-7 on the year. The Rams fall to 3-9 on the season while starting conference play at 0-1.
Salem State got off to a quick start as they went on a 7-0 run in the first two-and-a-half minutes of play led by Brendan Bouthillette (Billerica, MA) who led the Vikings with 10 points in the first half. A major key to Salem State’s success was their play in the post. The Vikings dominated the paint as they outscored the Rams 24-6 in the paint while they shot 41.7% from the field. Marcus Faison(Cambridge, MA) tallied nine points while grabbing 10 rebounds for Salem State and Drew Healy(Lowell, MA) pitched in with five points and six rebounds. A Faison free throw sparked a last minute 7-0 before the end of the first half that allowed the Vikings to take a commanding 34-13 heading into halftime.
After only scoring 13 points in the first twenty minutes of play, the Rams improved significantly as they shot 59.3% from the floor compared to the 16.7% in the first half. Timothy McCarthy (Wilmington, MA) led Framingham State on a 10-0 run in the first five minutes of the second half as he sparked it with a deep three pointer to cut the deficit to 13 points. Shyheim Davis (Boston, MA) had a big second half for the Vikings as he helped maintain a double digit throughout the remainder of the game with his presence on the offensive glass. Davis also tallied 11 points in the second half as he shot an impressive 6-8 from the floor. The Rams actually outscored the Vikings 42-31, but dug themselves a huge hole only scoring 13 points in the first half. Salem State secured a 65-55 win as they hit 9-out-of-12 free throws in the final two minutes of the game.
Davis led the Vikings with 13 points while Bouthillette finished with 12 points. McCarthy led all scorers with 15 points and Tony Alexandre (Hyde Park, MA) contributed with 12 points.
Salem State and Bridgewater State will resume action on January 9th as the Vikings host the Lancers of Worcester State at 3:00 p.m. The Rams travel to Bridgewater State for a 3:00 PM start time.
