WORCESTER  – Salem State University’s sophomore guard, Alex Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) scored a game-high 29 points, including five triples, to defeat the Lancers 103-84 Saturday (Jan. 7) afternoon in  Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play.Â
Santos went 9-for-20 from the field, 5-for-12 from the 3-point arc, and shot 100 percent from the free throw line to total 29. He also registered a team-high five assists and two steals in the contest. Also scoring double digits for the Vikings were Marcus Faison (Cambridge, Mass.), Tyreik McCauley (Worcester, Mass.) and Sean Bryan (Lowell, Mass.) with 18-13-10 points, respectively. Faison registered a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds, while Drew Healy (Lowell, Mass.) collected eight boards.Â
Paul Brooks (Arlington, Mass.) led the Lancers with a double-double 21 points and 12 rebounds. Also earning a double-double was Jeremy Bacon (Milford, Mass.) with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Worcester State saw three additional players with double figures including Aaron Anniballi (Milford, Mass.), Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.), and Ryan DiBernardo (Springfield, Mass.) with 13-12-11 points, respectively. Anniballi and DiBernardo recorded a game-high six assists apiece, while Corey Gatta (Sturbridge, Mass.) grabbed a team-high four steals.
 The Vikings jumped off to a quick start as they gained an 11-point advantage in the first six minutes of play. Worcester State cut the lead to six as they scored back-to-back buckets. However, the Vikings regained their 11-point advantage and surpassed it when McCauley made a layup and a triple with nine minutes remaining in the half. The Vikings jumped up to a 16-point lead minutes later, on yet, another bucket from McCauely, and did not allow the Lancers to get within 11 throughout the remainder of the half.
 Following a 55-40 halftime score, the Vikings came out strong and increased their 15-point lead to 21 in just four minutes when Salem State’s Santos was blasted three back-to-back triples and drained two free throw shots. The Vikings saw their largest lead of the game (25) with 5:39 remaining on the clock after Santos netted, yet, another three. Worcester State chipped away at the lead, shooting 52.8 percent from the field, but were not able to catch up with the Vikings, resulting in a final score of 103-84.
 The Vikings shot 50 percent as a team from the field, 36.7 percent from beyond the arc, and an astounding 90 percent from the free throw line, going 20-for-22, throughout the contest.
 The Lancers shots a near 49.3 percent from the field, but struggled at the stripe, going 10-for19.
 Worcester State (3-11, 1-1 MASCAC) resumes competition next Saturday (Jan. 14) when they host Fitchburg State in a 1 p.m. game. Salem State (8-6, 2-0 MASCAC) returns home on Jan. 11 when they host MCLA in MASCAC action.
WORCESTER  – A quartet of Worcester State women’s basketball players scored double figures on Saturday (Jan. 7) to defeat the visiting Salem State Vikings 63-56 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play.Â
The quartet consisted of Kaitlyn Berkel (Waterford, Conn.), Bianca Langford (Worcester, Mass.), Brianna Hackett (Hollis, N.H.), and Britt Herring (W. Brookfield, Mass.) who scored 20-14-13-10 points, respectively. Berkel and Langford registered double-doubles as Berkel picked up 10 boards and Langford notched 11. Langford also led the game in blocks with five, while Herring denied four Viking shots. Point guards Kate Surprenant (Pelham, N.H.) and Catherine Sweeney (Lowell, Mass.) each handled five assists throughout the contest.Â
Salem State’s Norma Waggett (Saugus, Mass.) led all scoring with 22 points and went 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Kaitlyn Bryan (Lowell, Mass.) scored 10 points for the Vikings, while Christina Corey (Methuen, Mass.) picked up eight off the bench. Saran Kaba (Dorchester, Mass.) tallied six points, a team-best seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals on the afternoon.  Â
After one tie with 7:16 to go in the first quarter, the Lancers took the lead on a triple from Berkel and never looked back. Worcester State reached a 10 point lead 7:34 into the game on a layup from Sweeney.Â
Salem State cut the Lancers’ lead to just two early in the second after Corey closed out the first quarter with a jumper, and then Kaba started the second frame with a layup. Following back-to-back buckets from each team, Worcester State then went on a 10-2 run with 7:53 remaining in the second to increase their lead to 14. The teams would eventually go into the locker room with a score of 35-24 in the Lancers favor.Â
Following the intermission, the Vikings came out and tipped the Lancers’ advantage to just five with 5:17 remaining in the third. The Vikings got even closer with 1:34 remaining in the third stanza when Bryan received an and-one to close the opening to four. However, Worcester State added four more to the scoreboard to close out the quarter ahead eight.Â
Worcester State gained their largest lead of the game of 13 twice in the final stanza, and eventually secured their second MASCAC win, despite a momentous triple from Waggett with five seconds remaining.Â
The Lancers generated a superior field goal percentage than the Vikings at 39.7 percent; however, the Vikings shot a stunning 91.7 percent from the free throw line to top the Lancers’ free throw shooting percentage.Â
Worcester State (6-7, 2-0 MASCAC) will resume play on Monday (Jan. 9) when they travel to UMass Dartmouth for a non-conference matchup, before hosting No. 1 Tufts in a “Math Madness†noontime game on Wednesday (Jan. 11). Salem State (8-7, 0-2 MASCAC) hosts MCLA in a 7:30 p.m. MASCAC game on Wednesday.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Casey Miller scored a pair of goals and added an asssist to lead Salem State to 4-2 win over Westfield State in a MASCAC men’s ice hockey game at Amelia Park on Saturday evening.
With the start of the game delayed 45 minutes by the snowstorm outside, the two teams muddled their way through the early stages of the game, before Salem gained momentum halfway through the period. Miller finally capitalized at the 18:34 mark , flicking in the goal on a breakaway to give Salem a 1-0 lead.
In the second period, Westfield had three consecutive, overlapping, power-play opportunities midway through the period, garnering eight shots on goal on the long power play. Salem goaltender Jason Pucciarelli stood tall in net, making several spectacular saves to keep the Vikings lead at 1-0 entering the third period.
Westfield drew first blood in the third period, as Lenny Caglianone scored on a power play with a shot from the blueline that snuck inside the right post to tie the game at 1-1.  The Vikings answered just 59 seconds later with a power-play tally of their own, as Miller flipped the puck high in the air from the Owls’ blueline ahead to John Needham who knocked the puck down with his hand and found the back of the net to give Salem a 2-1 lead.
The Owls tied the game 2-2 at the 12:19 mark as Nik Passero ripped a shot from the blueline off solid power play passing from F.X. Girard and Caglianone.
Miller was awarded what proved to be the game winner on an Owls own-goal as a defender tried to clear the puck off the back boards and inadvertently slipped it into their own net.
Brandon Platt added a long empty netter for the 4-2 final. Salem improves to 5-6-2 with the win and 4-2-1 in the MASCAC.  Pucciarelli finished with 38 saves.
Westfield drops to 7-6 and 3-4 in the MASCAC. Senior goaltender Jonathan LoParco stopped 33 shots for the Owls. Â
SALEM – Erin Gehen (West Seneca, NY) led the offense for Buffalo State with two points (1g, 1a) as the Bengals sailed past the Vikings of Salem State 6-2 Saturday afternoon at Rockett Arena to complete the two-game sweep. With the victory, the Bengals enhance their season record to 7-4-1 while the Vikings fall to 2-8.
Despite being assessed for a penalty in the opening moments, Buffalo State was able to kill the two minutes that gave them some early momentum. The Bengals then tallied an early goal on Salem State goalie Katherine Crane (Arlington, MA). Christine Harris (Mountain Top, PA) found Gehen for the game’s first goal in the opening three minutes that set the tone for Buffalo State. However, they did give the Vikings several power play opportunities, but they were able to contain the Salem State skaters to keep them off the scoreboard for the first twenty-minutes. The Bengals were able to add to their lead as Natasha Steinle (Morrison, CO) put the puck in the back of the net off a Bri Carroll (Peoria, AZ) assist 16:49 into the period.
In the second period, Salem State wasted no time cutting the deficit in half as Danielle Kelley (Charlestown, MA) brought her team to within one, sixty-seconds into the period. However, Emma Ruggiero (Amherst, NY) answered for the Bengals just thirty-seconds after Kelley’s goal to regain a two-goal advantage over the home team. After Rachel Lenard (Orchard Park, NY) was called for interference, Salem State went on the power play that allowed them to come back to within one goal again at 3-2, 12:08 into the period as Kelley notched her second goal of the day.
Crane and the Vikings’ defense had a tough time containing the Bengals’ attack as they allowed two unanswered goals before the end of the second period to head into the final frame down 5-2.. Carroll and Kromer tallied their second points of the day with goals in the final three minutes of the period that gave the Bengals a comfortable 5-2 edge heading into the third.
Buffalo State added one more goal for insurance in the third period as goalie Serena Angelo (Rochester, NY) and the Bengals’ defense kept Kelley and the Vikings scoreless in the final twenty-minutes of play. Buffalo State outshot Salem State 42-21 on the day. Crane took the brunt of the Bengals’ offense as she allowed five goals while saving 24 shots. Freshman Calie Richman (Boston, MA) finished the game for the Vikings with 12 saves as she allowed the final goal that was scored by Brooke Krantz (Penticton, BC). Angelo recorded her first win for Buffalo State as she made 19 stops.
Kromer, Ruggiero, Gehen, and Carroll all had two points in the 6-2 victory while Kelley led the Vikings with two goals.
Salem State will take the ice again on Jan. 10 at 3:00 p.m. when they travel to New England College to take on the Pilgrims. The Bengals will host Williams College at 2:00 p.m. on Jan. 10.
