Men’s Basketball Wins
FRAMINGHAM – Salem State raced out to a 44-15 halftime lead and cruised to a 77-38 victory over Framingham State in MASCAC action on Saturday afternoon. It was the fewest points scored by an opponent against Salem State since 2015 when the Vikings defeated the Rams 54-40. With the win the Vikings improve to 12-3 and remain unbeaten at 3-0 in the MASCAC. The Rams fall to 5-11 and 1-2 in league play.
The Vikings were led by a strong performance from senior Drew Healy (Lowell, Mass.) who recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Jacob Lindland (Hamilton, Mass.) added twelve points off the bench while Shaquan Murray (Boston, Mass.) and Alexander Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) added eight points apiece.
The Rams received a team-high nine points from Lorenzo Fernandes (Smithfield, RI) while Charles Valbrun (Hyde Park, Mass.) added seven points with seven boards.
After some physical back-and-forth play in the opening minutes, the Vikings hit their stride and took control of the fast paced contest, and headed into the break with a 44-15 lead. Healy had 12 points and 7 boards in the first half. Despite shooting just 30.6% in the second half on 11-36 from the floor, the Vikings took their largest lead of 41 points, 75-34 with 1:42 remaining following a layup by Anthony Hodges (Worcester, Mass.), who scored his first points for the Vikings since 2015.
The Rams struggled from the floor shooting 22.8% from the floor and 15.8% from beyond the arc. The Vikings converted 41.1% from the floor and 32.1% from long range while forcing 22 Framingham State turnovers.
Women’s Basketball Loses
FRAMINGHAM – The Framingham State University women’s basketball team opened up a 12 point lead in the third quarter and held off a comeback by Salem State University to secure a 69-62 victory this afternoon in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at the Athletic Center.
With the win, the Rams have won five straight and improve to 9-6 on the year and are now 3-0 in the league, while the loss drops the Vikings to 6-9 overall and 2-1 in the MASCAC.
Senior Raegan Mulherin (Baldwinville, Mass.) paced the Rams with a game-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and three steals, while sophomore Mary Kate O’Day (Berlin, Mass.) added a double double effort of 18 points and a team-high 11 boards. Sophomore Julia Sanborn (Dracut, Mass.) added 12 points off the bench on five-of-seven from the floor.
The Vikings were led by 16 points and 12 rebounds from senior Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.), while junior Kia Fernandes (Wareham, Mass.) added a double double of her own with 14 points on four-of-nine from the floor to go along with 12 boards and three assists. Sophomore Brianna Rodriguez (Salem, Mass.) was the only other Vikings in double figures with 12 points.
The Rams are back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Westfield State for a MASCAC game beginning at 5:30 p.m., while the Vikings travel to Eastern Connecticut on Tuesday for a non-conference contest at 5 p.m.
Salem State Men’s Hockey Falls at Worcester State
WORCESTER – Michael Casale (Stony Creek, Ont.) scored two second period goals, but Salem State could not catch Worcester State, as the Lancers prevailed 4-2 in a Saturday evening Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) tilt at the Worcester Ice Center. Worcester State is now 11-3-0 and 6-3-0 (MASCAC). Salem State goes to 7-7-1, and 4-5-0 in the conference.
Worcester State attained a quick 2-0 lead mid-way through the first period, scoring goals in the 5th and 9th minutes. Cody Weaver (Warwick, R.I.) scored the first goal of the evening 4:24 into the game succeeding touches from Tim Drevitch (Oxford, N.J.) and Mitchell Purdie (Peterborough, Ont.). Weaver shot from the right side following a scrum in front of the goal and sent the puck to the low right side of the cage, past Jason Pucciarelli (Newmarket, Ont.), for the 1-0 gain. Andrew Etheridge (Burrillville, R.I.) came up with the second goal of the game at 8:59 on helpers from Erik Pritchard (Cave Creek, Ariz.) and Weaver. Worcester State outshot Salem State 14-7 in the first period.
Salem State cut the Lancers’ lead in half 6:20 into the second stanza as Casale registered his 7th goal of the season on assists from Daniel Campbell (Waterloo, Ont.) and Aleksi Mustaniemi (Vihti, Finland). Two minutes later, Worcester State’s Matthew Manning (Novi, Mich.) put the Lancers’ lead back at two as he scored a goal succeeding a deflection from teammate’s Sean Castagna (Wilmington, Del.)’s shot. The visitors made the game interesting as they took advantage of a power play in the 14th minute as Casale tallied his second goal of the game for the 3-2 score.
The Lancers put an insurance goal on the board in the 7th minute of the third period, as Ryan James (Katy, Texas) scored on assists from Moran and Manning. The Lancers killed off two Viking power plays and Josh Reinstein (Woodland Hills, Calif.) turned away nine Viking shots on net in the final frame to secure the 4-2 conference win.
Reinstein earned his ninth win of the season, turning away 29-of-31 shots on net. Pucciarelli suffered the loss in a 26-save performance. Salem State held a 31-30 edge in shots throughout the game.
