SALEM – Alex Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) scored 11 second half points and Drew Healy (Lowell, Mass.) added nine points and five rebounds after halftime as Salem State held on for a 67-63 victory over UMass Dartmouth in the season-opener for both teams on Wednesday night at Twohig Gymnasium.
The Corsairs erased a seven-point halftime deficit behind the strong play of Joshua Imadiyi (Lynn, Mass.), who finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, including 13 points in the second half that gave UMass Dartmouth a chance to pull out the victory. The Vikings kept a seven-point lead 41-34 in the second before the Corsairs climbed back into the game after Atakan Akcam (Ankara, Turkey) scored seven straight points to pull UMass Dartmouth to within two at 41-39. Imadiyi added another jumper to tie the game before Alex Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) stemmed the rally with a jumper. A basket by Cody Borges (Dartmouth, Mass.) tied the game at 45-all, but following a basket by McCauley, Imadiyi gave UMass Dartmouth its first lead of the second half with back-to-back jumpers, including a three-pointer with 8:04 remaining.
A dunk by Healy and and layup by Santos temporarily reclaimed the lead for Salem State as the teams began to trade points. A Santos three-pointer and Imadiyi layup knotted the game at 54-54 before Sean Bryan (Lowell, Mass.) gave the Vikings a three-point cushion with a trey with 2:21 left.
Leading by one, 64-63, Bryan made one-of-two from the line for a two-point margin as the Corsairs had one last chance to tie or take the lead with six seconds left. However, a costly turnover by UMass Dartmouth prevented the chance as the Vikings hung on for a 67-63 win.
Healy finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds and three blocks while Santos added 11 points and five assists in the win. Tyreik McCauley (Worcester, Mass.) and Shaquan Murray (Boston, Mass.) contributed 14 points and 11 points respectively with McCauley also leading Salem State in rebounds with 12.
Akcam ended the night with 14 points and eight boards for UMass Dartmouth while Arinze Obiora (Lagos, Nigeria) had 13 points and nine rebounds for UMass Dartmouth.
Salem State built a 33-26 halftime advantage behind the scoring of Murray (9 points) and McCauley (8 points) as the two combined for 17 first-half points. Five straight points by Akcam gave UMass Dartmouth an early 11-8 lead, but a quick 9-3 spurt highlighted by two Jacob Lindland (Hamilton, Mass.) three-pointers, gave Salem State a 17-14 advantage. With the home team leading 21-19, the Vikings began to separate from the Corsairs as back-to-back baskets by Murray and McCauley and another bucket by Murray made the score 27-19 in favor of Salem State with 3:28 remaining in the half. A three-point play by Imadiyi pulled UMass Dartmouth to within 27-22, but baskets by Healy and Bryan and a dunk by McCauley quickly built the lead to eleven points, before consecutive scores by Akcam left the Vikings with a seven-point advantage at the half.
Salem State finished just 4-23 (17.4%) from behind the arc, but forced 20 turnovers by UMass Dartmouth.
SALEM — Jordyn Gauvin (Fall River, Mass.) scored 19 points and added nine rebounds to lead the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen to a 50-44 victory over Salem State in the Viking’ home-opener on Wednesday evening at Twohig Gymnasium.
Gauvin, who went 4-for-6 from three-point range, scored eight second half points to help stymie a late Salem State rally in the fourth quarter. Trailing 44-33 with 7:10 left in the final period, the Vikings went on an 11-2 run to pull within two at 46-44 with 1:15 remaining. Jes Brown (Stoneham, Mass.) and Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.), who had five points during the run, hit clutch three-pointers to draw Salem State to within a bucket. However, Gauvin and Jessa Rubera (Newton, Mass.) each hit a free throw to push the lead back to four at 48-44 as the Vikings could not answer.
The first half saw the Vikings trail by a single point 26-25 at halftime, despite shooting just 30.2% (10-27) from the field and 16.7% (1-7) from three-point range. Kia Fernandes (Wareham, MA) led Salem State with 10 first-half points as the Vikings built an early 14-7 lead, but trey’s by Gauvin and Rubera, and a free throw by Amber DeCristofaro (Smithfield, R.I.) tied the game at 14-14. Gauvin finished the half with 11 points as Rhode Island College used the deep ball to stay in the lead, going 5-12 (41.7%) from behind the arc.
DeCristofaro and Rubera each finished with seven points apiece while Rubera also had six steals. Ornela Livramento (Pawtucket, R.I.) led both teams with 13 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end.
Fernandes topped Salem State with 13 points and five rebounds while Waggett contributed nine points and five boards.
It was the first career game for both head coaches, Jenna Cosgrove of Rhode Island College and Al Berger from Salem State.
