Salem State Earns Top Seed In 2009 MASCAC Men's Basketball Championships

Buzzards Bay, Mass. (February 23, 2009) - Salem State College has earned the top seed in the 2009 Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championships, which begin on Tuesday, February 24th with quarterfinal round action and move to semi-final round play on Thursday, February 26th before concluding with the league championship game on Saturday, February 28th.

Salem State and second-seeded Bridgewater State College earned byes into Thursday's semi-finals and will await the winners of Tuesday's quarterfinal round contests, which will feature third-seeded Westfield State College hosting sixth-seeded Fitchburg State College and fourth-seeded Framingham State College hosting fifth-seeded Worcester State College, as both games will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. EST. Salem State and Bridgewater State shared the 2008-09 MASCAC regular season championship with identical 10-2 marks, but the Vikings won the tie-breaker between the squads to earn the top seed.

The winner of the Framingham State-Worcester State quarterfinal advances to take on Salem State in semi-final round action on Thursday evening in Salem, Mass., while the Westfield State-Fitchburg State winner will square off with Bridgewater State in Thursday's other semi-final match-up in Bridgewater, Mass., with both games tipping-off at 7:00 p.m. EST. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2009 MASCAC Championship on Saturday, February 28th at the site of the highest remaining seed beginning at either 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. EST.

Salem State reached the 20-win plateau (20-5 overall) to go with its 10-2 MASCAC slate under Head Coach Chris Harvey, as senior forward Dylan Holmes (Groton, Mass.), the reigning conference Player of the Year, leads the Vikings at 19.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg. Bridgewater State, winners of 12 of its last 13 contests, finished 18-6 overall and 10-2 in league action under Head Coach Joe Farroba, and the Bears are led by senior center Roland Millien's (Stoughton, Mass.) 16.9 ppg and 9.3 rpg.

Westfield State enters the post-season at 17-8 overall (9-3 in MASCAC play) under Head Coach Rich Sutter, as senior guard Dave Jaehnig (Quincy, Mass.) paces the Owls with 15.2 ppg. Framingham State posted a 14-11 regular season slate, including an even 6-6 MASCAC mark, under Head Coach Don Spellman, and junior forward Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, Mass.) averages a near double-double mark of 20.5 ppg and 9.9 boards per game for the Rams.

Worcester State notched a 12-13 overall regular season record (5-7 in league play) under Head Coach David Lindberg, and the Lancers are led in both scoring and rebounding by junior forward Maurice Horton (Detroit, Mich.), who averages a conference best 23.2 ppg to go with 10.1 rpg. Fitchburg State rounds out this year's field, as the Falcons finished 8-15 in regular season play (2-10 in MASCAC action) under Head Coach Derek Shell and are paced by senior guard Brian Torres (North Dighton, Mass.), who averages an even 17 points per game.

Salem State captured the 2008 MASCAC Men's Basketball Championship with an 82-62 victory over Westfield State in last year's title contest played at Twohig Gymnasium in Salem, Mass. The Vikings have won eight of the last nine conference tournament titles and captured 15 of the 19 MASCAC crowns overall.

2009 MASCAC Men's Basketball Championships

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH - QUARTERFINALS
Game #1: #5 Worcester State (12-13, 5-7) at #4 Framingham State (14-11, 6-6) 7:00 pm
Game #2: #6 Fitchburg State (8-15, 2-10) at #3 Westfield State (17-8, 9-3) 7:00 pm

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH - SEMI-FINALS
Game #3: Game #1 winner at #1 Salem State (20-5, 10-2) 7:00 pm
Game #4: Game #2 winner at #2 Bridgewater State (18-6, 10-2) 7:00 pm

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH - CHAMPIONSHIP (AT HIGHEST REMAINING SEED)
Game #5: Semi-Final Winners 2:00/3:00 pm