Vikings Face Setback in North Adams

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Salem State men's basketball suffered their first Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) road loss tonight after the Trailblazers from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts defeated them 86-79, dropping the Vikings to 9-13 on the season and 6-3 in conference play.

Tyrese Rho (Boston, Mass.) led the Vikings with 24 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while Nicholas Martinez (Revere, Mass.) contributed 21 points and six rebounds off the bench. Omri Merryman (Lynn, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points in the effort.

For the Trailblazers, Quentin Gittens had a dominant performance, recording a 32-point, 15-rebound double-double, while Jojo Garcia added his own double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.

How it Happened:

• MCLA jumped out to an early lead, hitting four three-pointers to take a 12-2 advantage in the first four minutes before pushing their lead to 15 points shortly after. The Vikings chipped away and after a perfect trip at the charity stripe from Rho, Salem cut their deficit to four, 21-17, at the midway point.
• With less than six minutes remaining in the half, the Trailblazers had built a 14-point lead before the Vikings managed to trim the deficit to 10, 38-28, as they went into the break.
• Three minutes into the second half, the Vikings managed to cut the Trailblazers' lead to single digits, but it was short-lived as a three-pointer quickly pushed MCLA's lead back to 46-34 at the 17:20 mark.
• With six minutes remaining, Nicholas Martinez ignited a 9-0 run for the Vikings, scoring seven of those points, cutting the Trailblazers' lead to just three at 71-68 with 4:18 to play. Howeve, Gittens would have the answer, hitting five of his six free throws over the next three minutes to extend the Trailblazers' lead to 76-68.
• Rho tried to keep the Vikings in the game, scoring nine of his squad's final 10 points, but MCLA sealed the 86-79 victory by hitting nine of their 10 free throws in the final minute.

Inside the Numbers:

• With his three three-pointers tonight, Merryman has now connected on two more triples in his last 10 games.
• Ten of Rho's 24 points tonight came from the free-throw line, marking the second time this season he has scored 10 or more points from the charity stripe.

Up Next:

The Vikings return home to Twohig Gymnasium this Saturday, February 15th, to face the Lancers from Worcester State University at 12 p.m. In celebration of Black History Month, the Vikings will be offering giveaways at the door, along with a chance to win a Black History Month Salem State Athletics shirt.