Falcons Hold off Vikings for 1st MASCAC Win, 102-96

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team downed the Vikings of Salem State University, 102-96 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at Parkinson Gymnasium.
The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 102, Salem State 96
Records: Fitchburg State (5-9, 1-1 MASCAC) | Salem State (7-8, 1-1 MASCAC)

How It Happened

The teams traded the lead to open the first minutes of the game, Fitchburg State held a 10-6 advantage after sophomore Charles Doss (Fitchburg, Mass.) cashed in a 3-point jump shot from the corner. Salem State regained the lead 15-14 with an Evan Mason (Gloucester, Mass.) trey with 14:27 to play.

Next, the Falcons took the lead (16-15) and control of the first half after Doss made a pair from the charity stripe. Newcomer Devan Harris (Danvers, Mass.) drained a 3-pointer the hosts held an eight point advantage (27-19) midway through the stanza.

Salem connected on a pair of layups from junior Hakeem Animashaun (Dedham, Mass.) and freshman Melvin Worley (Lowell, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 29-26, however the green and gold followed with a 14-6 run to hold a ten point advantage (43-33).

Senior Jonathan Perez (Lowell, Mass.) notched five straight points for the Falcons to give the hosts a 58-46 lead heading into halftime.

After the break the Falcons built their biggest lead of the game (68-51) posting a 7-0 run on baskets from junior Tyrell St. John (Stamford, Conn), Doss and a trey from junior Andre Ruff (Chicago, Ill.) .

While the Falcons maintained mostly a 10 point advantage throughout the second half the Vikings wouldn't back down. With two minutes to play junior Sean Bryan (Lowell, Mass.) sank a three-pointer to make the score 94-87. Trailing by six (96-90) Bryant connected on a four point play to make it a game (96-94) with 1:12 to play.

The Falcons answered with a pair at the charity strip from freshman Tayjaun McKenzie (Lynn, Mass.), and buckets from Ruff and Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.) to seal the win (102-96).

Inside the Numbers

• Fitchburg State was paced by Perez with a team-leading 20 points and eight boards, while McKenzie added 19 points and ten rebounds off the bench.
• Fitchburg State University had five players in double figures. Perez (20), McKenzie (19), Ruff (15), Tracy (15), and St. John (10).
• Doss had a team-best 12 rebounds along with 9 points
• For Salem, Animashaun finished with a monster stat line including a game-best 33 points and 16 caroms, while Bryan chipped in with 22 points and 11 boards.
• Fitchburg State shot 35-for-84 (41,7%) from the field and (12-of-30) 40% from beyond the arc.
• Salem went 32-for-70 (45.7%) overall and (10-of-22) 45.5% from three point range.
• The Falcons finished with a 51-48 margin on the glass.
• This evening's contest marked the 102nd meeting between the two squads on the basketball court with the Falcons currently 15-86 all-time when taking on the Vikings.

Up Next

Falcons will travel to the Trailblazers of MCLA next Wednesday for a MASCAC conference bout, starting at 5:30 PM. Vikings will host the Rams of Framingham State on Saturday for a MASCAC match-up starting at 1:00 PM.