Vikings Drop to Lions in OT

SALEM, Mass. – Salem State men's basketball returned to Twohig Gymnasium after a road stint as they hosted the Lions of Eastern Nazarene College for a non- conference bout. Thanks to some last second heroics from Jarret Byrne (Melrose, Mass,), an extra five minutes of play would be needed before Eastern Nazarene took the 83- 79 victory over Salem State.

For the Vikings, Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.), Jarret Byrne (Melrose, Mass.), and Conner Byrne (Melrose, Mass.) each had 16 points with J. Byrne also grabbing 14 rebounds while Josiah Green (Springfield, Mass.) had 11 points and seven assists in the loss.

Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) led all scorers with 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds in ENC's victory.

The opening five minutes of action saw back and forth play before Green was able to give the Vikings a five- point cushion after finding the bottom of the basket from long range. One minute later, after a perfect trip to the line, the Lions brought the score to 12-10 and themselves within two points of the home team.  Around the halfway point, the Vikings were able to distance themselves yet again after a three from J. Byrne put his squad up nine, but the Lions refused to go away and would never fall behind by more than nine for the rest of the half, entering the break down 35-32.

Three minutes in the second half, the Lions found their first lead since the opening minute of the game, after a three-pointer put them up 41-39 and forced the Vikings to take a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Lions would lead by as many as five before the Vikings were able to bring the game back within one. With 11 minutes to play, J. Byrne tied the game at 49 before a Castillo layup put the Vikings back in the driver's seat. The next ten minutes saw the lead jump back and forth between teams before entering the final minute of play with Eastern Nazarene ahead 68-65. With 20 seconds to go, Green went 2-2 from the line to bring his team within one, but shortly after the Lions had the same fate to find themselves on top by three with 10 seconds to play. When it looked like the game was decided, J. Byrne lifted up from behind the arc with two ticks left on the clock and nailed a three to tie the game at 70 and send the game into overtime.

ENC struck first to start the extra five minutes of play after a layup put them up two before Castillo's trip to the free line was able to bring the home team within one point. Unfortunately, one point would be as close as the Vikings would get in overtime as the Lions were able to use the free throw line and clock to their advantage to steal the 83-79 victory from the Vikings.