Vikings Notch First MASCAC Win Over Falcons

SALEM, Mass. – After forty minutes of action, Salem State men's basketball secured their first Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) as they defeated the Falcons of Fitchburg State University by a score of 67-62.

Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.) spearheaded the Vikings with 17 points to go along with three helpers. Teammates, Conner Byrne (Melrose, Mass.) and Chris MacDonald (Wakefield, Mass.) contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively, with Byrne grabbing eight rebounds in the victory.

Fitchburg State had four players score in double- figures with Matthew Tanis (Hialeah, Fla.) leading the charge notching 14 points and five rebounds in the loss.

How it Happened:

• The Vikings opened the game scoring 15 unanswered points before a three from the Falcons finally put the away team on the scoreboard, bringing the score to 15-3 with 14 minutes remaining in the half. Two minutes later, the Falcons found themselves within eight points of the Vikings but the home team would quickly regain a double-digit lead after Burke Kennedy (Brooklyn, N.Y.) nailed a three to put his squad up by 11 (20-9).
• From there, the Falcons slowly chipped away at Salem's lead and found themselves in a one possession game after a jumper brought them within three points (30-27) of Salem State. This would be as close as the Falcons would get for the remainder of the half as Salem closed out the stanza with layup on their end and a defensive stop on the other, carrying them into the break with the 37-32 advantage.  
• Conner Byrne got the bench and the crowd on their feet to start the half when he converted an alley-oop to build on the Vikings lead (39-32).
• Five minutes into the half Salem found themselves ahead by double digits after a Vikings steal resulted in an easy two on the other end (45-34). They used this momentum to jump ahead by 18 points with just over 11 minutes to play in the game.
• After a timeout to regroup, the Falcons scored six unanswered points to cut the Vikings lead to 11 and bring the game to 56-45 with just under five minutes to play.  Two minutes later, Fitchburg went on a 9-0 run to get within four points (62-58) of the Vikings with 1:13 to play in the game.
• Despite Fitchburg's final push, the Vikings gritted out the win on the free throw line, going 5-6 in the closing 40 seconds, to steal the 67-62 victory.