Beacons Outlast Vikings, 85-78

BOSTON, Mass. – Salem State men's basketball traveled down to Boston this afternoon to take on the Beacons from the University of Massachusetts-Boston, where the home team defeated the Vikings 85-78 to drop them to 3-10 on the season.

Tyrese Rho (Boston, Mass.) led the Vikings with a game-high 23 points and seven assists, while Nicholas Martinez (Revere, Mass.) and Omri Merryman (Lynn, Mass.) contributed 19 and 15 points, respectively.

The Beacons had five players reach double figures, with Emanuel Zayas (Hollywood, Fla.) leading the way with 19 points. Teammate Mark Barrett (Brookline, Mass.) dished out a game-high 10 assists to go alone with eight points in the effort.

How it Happened:

• The Vikings took the game's first two possession lead at the 13-minute mark, with a three-pointer from newcomer Jarnel Snow (Lynn, Mass.) to put them up 14-9. However, the Beacons responded with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes, taking a 23-17 lead with 11:17 remaining in the half.
• With just over a minute to play, Byrne powered in a dunk to cut the Vikings' deficit to six points, but the Beacons finished the half with the last two buckets to extend their lead to 44-34 as they went into the break.
• The Vikings opened the second half with a 12-4 run over the first four minutes, fueled by seven points from Merryman, narrowing the gap to 48-46 with 15 minutes remaining. Shortly after, the Vikings pulled within one, but the Beacons responded with an 11-2 run to regain a double-digit lead, 61-51, with under ten minutes remaining.
• Over the next five minutes, Rho and Martinez teamed up for 16 points, bringing the Vikings within two at 69-67 with 4:10 remaining. Unfortunately, that would be as close as they would get, as the Beacons held on to secure an 85-78 victory.

Inside the Numbers:

• Jarnel Snow scored seven points in his debut for the orange and blue.
• Nicholas Martinez has reached double figures in five of his six games this season for the Vikings.

Up Next:

The Vikings will travel to Bridgewater State on Wednesday, January 8^th to take on the Bears for their first Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.