Vikings Fall in Conference Action

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications 

SALEM, Mass.-  Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.)  and Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, Mass.) combined for 36 points to give Worcester State the 80-69 Massachusetts State Colligate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Salem State on Wednesday night in Twohig Gymnasium. The Lancers improved their record 10-7 overall and 4-0 in conference while the Vikings dropped to 8-7 and 2-2 in conference action.  

For the Lancers, Rubenskas recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while also leading his team in assists with four. 

Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) recorded a double-double for the Vikings with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.)  netted a team-high 15 points in the effort.

 The Lancers started the game on a 6-0 run thanks to three-pointers from Jaylen Kirkland (Gardner, Mass.) and Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.). However, the Vikings quickly answered back with a 5-0 run of their own to make it a one-point game. Despite the back-and-forth action early, the Vikings found themselves down by a score of 21-13 with ten minutes remaining in the half. A perfect trip to the charity stripe for L.J. Hicks would cut into that lead but the Lancers would answer with a 14-0 run make it a 39-15 game with five minutes to play in the half. Hicks would stop the bleeding with a deep ball, but the Lancers would still hold the double-digit lead for the remainder of the half to head into the break with the sizeable 48-22 advantage.

The Vikings began chipping away at the start of the second and eventually found their footing when Castillo connected on a three at the 13-minute mark to spark a 13-1 run to cut their deficit to 14 (62-48) with 10:40 to play in the game. But despite their best efforts, the Lancers regained control and led by as many as 21 points before taking the eventual 80-69 victory over the Vikings.

After the game Coach Harvey talked about their second half run: "I don't want to discredit how we competed we made some plays, we made some runs, but you just can't dig yourself out of a 26-point hole."  

Salem State will be looking to bounce back as they welcome the Falcons of Fitchburg State this Saturday, January 20. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.