Vikings Fall to Northshore Foe

WENHAM, Mass. – Salem State men's basketball traveled to Wenham, Massachusetts tonight to take on the Scots of Gordon College for a non-conference matchup. After forty minutes of action, the Scots snuck away with the 81-77 victory over the Vikings, dropping them to 2-3 on the young season.

Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.) was a bright spot for the Vikings, notching 23 points on 9 for 12 shooting for the night. Meanwhile, Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) and Liam Byrne (Melrose, Mass.) each netted 13 and 12, respectively, while Omri Meryman (Lynn, Mass.) recorded a career- high 10 points in the effort.

Gordon saw four of their five starters in double-digits tonight with Isaac Jarvis (Concord, N.H.) pacing the Scots with 22 points and 11 rebounds while Bryce Smith (San Francisco, Calif.) followed with 20 points of his own in the victory.

The Scots jumped out to an early 11-2 lead before Castillo stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer, cutting the Scots lead to six with 16:17 to play in the half. Four minutes later, the Scots would find themselves on another run just to be silenced once again by a deep ball from Castillo, bringing the score to 18-13 in favor of the home team.  With just under ten minutes to play in the first, the Scots went on an 8-2 run to take the 11-point advantage and force the Viking's hand at a timeout. Salem was able to use the regroup to their advantage, scoring back-to-back baskets to make it a seven-point game with 5:52 to go in the first half. In the final three minutes of the half, Castillo went on a 10-0 run of his own to put Salem ahead 36-35 to enter the break.

Gordon came out of the half firing, scoring eight straight points to reclaim the 43-38 lead just two minutes into the second. Two minutes later, Merryman would bring his team within one point before back-to-back Viking three-pointers put them ahead, 53-48. The Vikings were able to hold the slight edge until the 9:56 mark when Micah Steely (London, Ky.) drained a three to spark a 11-0 run which would put the Scots ahead 64-58.  The Vikings would chip away over the next six minutes before they were able to tie the game at 73 when Castillo found Makiej behind the arc with 1:32 to play. Despite Salem's best efforts, the Scots three perfect trips to the charity stripe in the closing 30 seconds sealed their 81-77 victory over the Vikings.