Vikings Secure First MASCAC Victory

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.- Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass,) and LJ Hicks (Gardner, Mass.) combined for 45 points to give Salem State the 86-73 Massachusetts State Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Framingham State tonight. Salem State notched their first conference victory of the season to improve their record to 1-1 in MASCAC action and 7-6 overall.

Salem State's Makiej had a game-high 25 points after going 11 for 15 from the field while Will Martinez (Revere, Mass.) led the team in rebounds with six.

For the Rams, Joshua Saint Jean (Lynn, Mass.) went 7-11 from the field scoring 21 points and Joshua-Daniel Okafor (Boston, Mass.) contributed with nine rebounds in the effort.

The opening six minutes of the game saw both sides trading baskets with neither team able to get their footing. After a three-pointer from Viking guard Burke Kennedy (Brooklyn, N.Y.) at the 13:35 mark both teams went scoreless over the next three minutes before Makiej scored eight unanswered points to give the Vikings the 22-12 lead with under ten minutes to play in the half. Two minutes later, the Rams would find themselves back within single digits as a perfect trip to the charity stripe cut their deficit to eight (24-16). W. Martinez would answer with a deep ball to reclaim the double-digit cushion for the Vikings, which would hold for the remainder of the half as Salem went into the break with the 44-29 lead.

Both teams started off slow to come out of the half, combining for only five points in the opening three minutes. The game found its footing around the 15-minute mark after a Castillo steal and easy two on the other end reignited the action. Soon after the Rams hit back-to-back three-pointers to cut their deficit to12 (54-42) with 14:07 left in the game. 

Shortly after and following a timeout, Castillo nailed a three while absorbing contact to notch a four-point play and give the Vikings a 17-point advantage. The Rams kept chipping away, coming within 11 (71-59) at the seven-minute mark but that would be as close as they would get as the Vikings remained poised throughout the final minutes to take the 86-73 victory over the Rams.

After the game Coach Harvey talked about the win "It all started on defense. I thought our defense played well... We did the best that we could to keep them at bay offensively. We had guys make shots today. That's a big difference if we can get guys making shots, we got contribution from all around the lineup."  

Salem State will travel to MCLA this Saturday, January 13 for a Massachusetts State Athletic Conference (MASCAC) tip off scheduled at 2:00 p.m.