Courtesy of Salem State and Worcester State Sports Information

The Salem State Vikings and the Bridgewater State Bears are set to meet in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship after winning their semifinal games on Thursday night.

Bryan Ortiz (Lynn, MA) tallied 17 points as the number one seed Vikings of Salem State (17-8) defeated the fifth seeded Trailblazers of MCLA, 82-76.  

In 2012, as the number one seed, Salem State defeated Bridgewater State 83-71 in the MASCAC championship game.

Nicholas Grassa (Lynn, MA) led all scorers in the first half with 11 points on 4-5 shooting and a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc. Grassa’s efforts were critical for the Vikings’ offensive success in the half, allowing Salem to take the lead on two different occasions. Ortiz contributed heavily as well, scoring five points in back-to-back possessions for the Vikings, allowing the home team to take their largest lead of the half at 23-15 with 7:03 remaining.

With eleven lead changes; MCLA forward Ramon Viches (Boston, MA) kept the Trailblazers within striking distance with seven points on 3-4 shooting. Andrew White (Medford, MA) pitched in nine points and dished out four assists, as the Vikings were able to escape the half with a 34-30 lead over the Trailblazers.

Salem State jumped out to an early 45-30 lead in the second half after a 10-0 run that lasted until the 13:35 mark, which gave the Vikings momentum for the rest of the half. A deep three-pointer from Ortiz gave Salem State their largest lead of the night, a 19-point margin midway through the half.  The Vikings shooters came ready to fire in the second half shooting 54.4% nearly 30% better from the first half. 

After a Paul Maurice (Boston, MA) three-pointer, MCLA called a timeout that gave the Trailblazers a chance to recuperate and strategize a comeback, which they did. MCLA outscored the Vikings 35-17 from 9:15 to the: 45 mark that allowed the Trailblazers to cut the deficit to just three. During that stretch, Jeremic Bennett (Albany, NY) scored 13 points while Maurice added nine points. A huge steal by White with 34 seconds left led to two free throws by Jon Perez (Weymouth, MA) which cemented the 82-76 victory for the Vikings.

White finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists and Grassa ended with 15 points on 5-7 shooting. Hamed Akanni (Fitchburg, MA) added 12 points off the bench. MCLA’s Maurice finished with 20 points and four assists while teammate Viches contributed with 12 points. MCLA finishes the year with a 9-17 record.

In the second semifinal of the night, senior Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, MA) poured in a game-best 31 points to help propel second-seeded Bridgewater State to a 66-64 triumph over third-seeded Worcester State at the Tinsley Center.

Montiero, who also finished with six boards, did his damage on a 10-for-17 effort from the field and he was a perfect 9-for-9 at the line. Junior Kyle Gibson (Franklin, MA) also tallied 12 points and four assists while classmate Michael Lofton (Mansfield, MA) grabbed a squad-high 10 boards for Bridgewater State.

Senior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) netted 13 points and he corralled a contest-best 14 boards for his 19th double-double in 26 contests.

Junior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA), freshman Noris Cuevas-Nova (Amherst, MA) and classmate Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) all registered 10 points in the setback for the Lancers. Rios also had eight caroms and Jobst added four swipes.

With Bridgewater State up 53-62 and 6:27 on the clock late in the second period, the Lancers made it a 62-60 game just three minutes later with a 7-0 run which was finished off by Cuevas-Nova canning the back end of a bonus try.

Montierio connected for a jumper to make it a four point contest at the 2:55 mark before Jobst sank two buckets at the line to make it a one-possession game with 1:25 showing on the scoreboard (64-62).

In the waning moments, Montierio and Lofton missed shots for the hosts while the Lancers were whistled for a traveling violation with 35 ticks left.

Jobst then gave his team a lift with a steal at half court on the ensuing inbounds pass, but sophomore Manny Cabral’s (Roslindale, MA) lay-up bid was rejected with 25 ticks remaining by Lofton. Cuevas-Nova had another chance for the visitors in the paint, however, Lofton came up with the defensive carom to help out the Bears at the charity stripe.

Montiero sealed up the win by calmly drilling the last two shots at the line for the Bears.

After the seventh lead change in a back-and-forth affair to start off the game, the Lancers used an 11-0 run to take over a 23-13 contest with 8:58 remaining. WSU continued to hold the hosts scoreless until sophomore Conor Dunleavey (Winchester, MA) broke a scoreless drought of more than six minutes with a jumper in the paint 90 ticks later.  

As the Blue and Gold held their largest margin in the period at 30-18 and 4:29 showing on the clock, Montiero sparked the Bears who closed out the frame with a 14-0 surge for the 32-30 advantage at the intermission.

Montiero started off the spurt with an old fashioned three-point play and he chipped in with 11 points in the skein.

After the break, Cuevas-Nova helped tie up the game by converting a lay-up for the 32-32 game, but then Bridgewater State embarked on a 12-1 spurt to take over a 44-33 advantage with 16:44 left.

Bridgewater State maintained their advantage through most of the second period with leads of 10 points at the 12:06 mark (55-45) and nine with 6:27 remaining in regulation (53-62).

The Blue and Gold finished shooting 40 percent for the game (26-for-65), but only drained two of their 15 bids from beyond the arc. In comparison, Bridgewater State held a modest 38 percent clip in the contest (23-for-61) while they nearly sank half of their shots from downtown (8-for-17).

The visitors controlled the paint (44-24) and the backboards (49-33) as they used a 17-10 offensive glass margin to lead in second-chance baskets (21-9).

Bridgewater State took full advantage of 20 Lancer miscues with a 21-8 lead in points off turnovers. The Bears also had 15 assists for 23 made field goals.