Last Second Heroics Lifts Falcons Over Vikings in Opening Round

SALEM, Mass. – This evening, Salem State men's basketball opened up the first round of the MASCAC tournament when they welcomed the Falcons of Fitchburg State for a matchup between the fourth and fifth seeds. A buzzer-beater by Fitchburg State's Tajahn Joyner (Amherst, Mass.) allowed the Falcons to pull off the 63-61 upset and bring an end to Salem State men's basketball season.

Jarret Byrne and Conner Byrne (Melrose, Mass.) paced the Vikings with double-doubles as J. Byrne notched 17 points and 12 rebounds, while C. Byrne added 10 of his own to go along with 18 rebounds. Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.) and Chris Macdonald (Wakefield, Mass.) netted 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the effort.

The Falcons were spearheaded by Matthew Tanis (Hialeah, Fla.) who had 19 points, while teammate Dayne Allen (Revere, Mass.) chipped in 14 of his own while grabbing a game-high 20 rebounds in the first-round victory.

How it Happened:

• The Vikings struck first as they found themselves ahead 6-1 just four minutes into action, but the Falcons would hold them there and go on an 11-0 run over the following three minutes to take the 12-6 edge.
• Salem was able to regain the lead with 8:09 to play after a MacDonald three sparked the Vikings to a 10-0 run, to bring the score to 18-16 in their favor.
• After tying the game at 20 apiece, the Falcons regained the lead after an easy two put them ahead, 22-20 with 4:45 remaining in the half. Shortly after the Vikings were able to bring the game back to a stalemate (22-22) but Salem would only tack on one more point, compared to the Falcons nine, to find themselves down 31-23 entering the break.  
• Six minutes into the second half, Jarret Byrne brought the game to 35-all after a tough layup before a 1-2 trip at the charity strip put the Vikings ahead, 36-35, with 13:54 to play.
• Both teams spent the next five minutes exchanging the lead, before a flashy pass from Javier Osorio (Pittsfield, Mass.) to C. Byrne gave the Vikings the 3-point advantage (49-46) and forced the Falcons' hand at a timeout.
• With 5:56 to play in the game, the Falcons needed to use another regroup after a defensive stop by Castillo led to an easy two on the other side to put the Vikings up five (53-48) and the crowd on their feet. One minute later, Salem found their largest lead of the half after a J. Byrne layup put his squad up by a tally of six (57-51).
• Tanis was able to navigate his way through the Viking defensive to notch a tough two points and bring the Falcons within four points of the home team with just over three minutes to play. Entering the final minute of regulation, the Vikings found themselves ahead, 61-57, but the Falcons would cut the lead in half at the free line after Tanis went 2-2 to make it a one-possession game.
• With thirty seconds to play the Falcons would tie it at 61-all, giving the Vikings one last possession to try for the game but the Falcons were able to get their biggest defensive stop of the game, allowing them to regain possession with 3.9 seconds on the clock.
• Tajahn Joyner found the ball in his hands for the final shot where a hard drive to the basket ended with a wild floater that bounced around the rim, which eventually fell as the buzzer sounded, solidifying the 63-61 upset over the Vikings.