Vikings Defeat Falcons on Valentine's Day

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications

FITCHBURG, Mass. – Salem State men's basketball found themselves back in the win column tonight after Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.) and Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) combined for 42 points to lead their squad to the 93-62 victory over the Falcons of Fitchburg State University. The Vikings improved their record to 12-11, 5-6 on the season while the Falcons dropped to 3-21, 1-10.

Five Vikings notched double digits on the night with Castillo leading the way with 24 points while Makiej netted 18 of his own. Liam Byrne (Melrose, Mass.) recorded his third double-double in a row after his 12-point, 18- rebound performance tonight.

Javon Taylor (Cambridge, Mass.) paced the Falcons with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Alex Moemeka (West Hartford, Conn.) chipped in with 14 points in the effort.

After jumping out to an early lead the Vikings found themselves at a nine-point stalemate with the Falcons with 14:17 remaining in the first half. However, the Vikings would explode with 26 unanswered points, with 12 of those points coming from beyond the arc, to take the commanding 35-9 lead with just over five minutes to play in the opening stanza. The Falcons would respond with back-to-back buckets, but they would still enter the break behind double-digits as the Vikings led, 44-19.

At halftime, Salem State had a comfortable margin of 25 points as Omri Merryman (Lynn, Mass.)  led the Vikings with 11 points, going 3-4 from the field, while Byrne had 11 rebounds. For the Falcons, Taylor led the team with eight points and six rebounds.

The Vikings would keep the gap at 21 to 24 points for the first five minutes of the second half before a Castillo triple and a free throw from Burke Kennedy (Brooklyn, N.Y.) gave the Vikings their largest lead yet at 27 points (61-33). The Falcons would answer with an 8-0 run to cut their deficit (61-41) and force the Vikings to use a timeout with 9:57 remaining in the game. The regroup would work in the Vikings' favor as Castillo would notch seven points over the next three minutes to put his squad up 30 points which would carry them to the dominant 93-62 victory over the Falcons.

The Vikings are back at home for Senior Day this Saturday, February 17 when they welcome the Owls of Westfield State University for their final regular-season MASCAC matchup.  Tipoff is scheduled for 2p.m..