Vikings Fall to Engineers, 77-62

SALEM, Mass. – Salem State men's basketball finished up their home stint this afternoon as they welcomed the Engineers of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to Twohig Gymnasium. A game of runs found the 13^th ranked Engineers edging out the Vikings by 15 to take the 77-62 victory.

Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.) paced the Vikings with 14 points and four helpers on the afternoon. Chris MacDonald (Wakefield, Mass.) and Conner Byrne (Melrose, Mass.) contributed 12 points each  in the effort.

The Engineers saw even production on the afternoon with Aidan Callahan (Rowley, Mass.) leading the charge with 19 points to go along with eight rebounds. Teammates, John Lowther (Hingham, Mass.) and John Adams (Douglas, Mass.), both netted 16 and 14 points, respectively, in the win.

How it Happened:

• Both sides got off to a slow start to the game, only combining for 20 points after ten minutes of play, with the visitors seeing the slight 13-7 advantage.  
• The Engineers started to find their groove shortly after when Callahan hit a three to give his team the 10- point lead and force the Vikings to use a timeout. MacDonald would not let them stay ahead by double- digits for long as a three of his own brought his squad back within nine (21-12) with 7:25 to play in the half.
•  Callahan once again put his team back on top by double- digits after four unanswered points of his own lifted WPI to a 12- point tilt (28-16). From there, Salem would convert on back-to-back fastbreaks to put themselves within striking distance with under 3:30 to go in the first. But the Engineers would close out the half on a 11-6 run, giving them the 39-26 advantage going into the half.
• Coming out of the break the Engineers picked up right where they left off, converting an and one less than 30 seconds into the second to extend their lead.
• With just under 17 minutes to go in the game, Castillo netted a three for the Vikings to cut the Engineers lead to eleven (46-35). WPI followed this up with an 8-0 run to jump back to a 19- point cushion with 14:03 left on the clock.
• The Vikings used the free line to get back into the game after entering the bonus with eleven minutes to go in the game led them to an 8-0 run to bring the game back within 10 (54-44). A timeout on the visitor's behalf worked in their favor as they were able to find themselves ahead by a tally of 18 with less than eight minutes to go.
• Despite increased pressure from the Viking's defense, the Engineers kept the Vikings at bay in the last four minutes, only letting them get as close as 12 points, to take the 77-62 victory back to Worcester.