Vikings Make It Three In A Row After 84-69 Win Over Rams

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.— Salem State men's basketball notched their third straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) win after defeating Framingham State University by a score of 84-69. This afternoon's 15-point win improved the Vikings to 6-13 on the season and an even 3-3 in MASCAC play.

The Vikings were led by Chris MacDonald (Wakefield, Mass.) who netted a game-high 23 points while dishing out three helpers. Javier Osorio (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.) added 15 and 14 points, respectively, while the Byrne twins both notched a double- double with 12 points and 14 (J. Byrne) and 13 (C. Byrne) rebounds in this afternoon's win.

Juran Ligonde (Dedham, Mass.) paced the Rams with 20 points, seven rebounds, and two assists while Ryan England (Sebastian, Fla.) and Joshua- Daniel Okafor (Boston, Mass.) each contributed 14 points and five rebounds in the effort.

How it Happened:

• Spearheaded by back-to-back buckets from MacDonald, Salem State jumped out to the early 6-0 lead before the Rams were able to find themselves on the scoreboard three minutes into the game after a three-pointer cut the Vikings lead in half (6-3).
• Six minutes into the half, The Vikings were able to use the free throw line to their advantage, as they made three separate trips over the course of one minute to add to their slight tilt (14-7). A Shortly after, Ligonde was able to bring his squad within two points of the Vikings after a three pointer with just under 13 minutes to play brought the score to 16-13 but the Vikings would go on to score 15 unanswered points to give them a 16-point cushion (29-13) with 9:21 to play in the half.
• Framingham State continued to rely on the deep ball to keep them in the game, as they were able to break into the Viking's double- digit lead and find themselves within nine points after a deep shot from England brought the score to 31-22. After a scoreless two minutes, the Vikings found themselves back up by double-digits and outscored the Rams 12-6 in the closing four minutes to go into break with the 43-28 advantage.
• Less than a minute into the second half of play the Vikings found their biggest lead of the game after Castillo converted an and-one to put his squad up by a tally of 17 (48-31).
• With 11:55 to play in the game, a 1-2 trip to the line for J. Byrne broke up a scoreless two minutes for both squads and brought the game to 55-39, in favor of the Vikings. Three minutes later, J. Byrne once again added to his team's cushion after gritty play downlow led to two points of his own and put Salem up by a tally of 20 (65-45) with 8:05 to play.
• The home team began to mount a comeback with 4:15 to play after seven unanswered points brought them within 14, but the comeback would be too little too late as the Vikings would not be phased and go onto take the eventual 84-69 victory.