Men's Basketball drops MASCAC tilt to front running Salem State 110-80
Hayden Bird scored 22 points to lead all scorers tonight
North Adams, MA-- The visiting Salem State men's basketball team erupted for 66 points in the closing half and placed six players in double figures as they sprinted past the MCLA Trailblazers 110-80 this evening in MASCAC action. The Vikings (8-7 overall) are unblemished in conference play sitting at 4-0. MCLA (6-7 overall) is now 1-1 in the conference.
Sean Bryan collected a triple double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists in the win. Conner Byrne added a double double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. Chris MacDonald added 14 points off the bench for the Vikings.
Salem State took command of this one late in the first half. The Vikings led just 32-31 after MCLA's Noah Yearsley connected from long range, however the Vikings would respond with a 12-5 surge to close the half. They would take a 44-36 into halftime.
With 19 minutes to play, MCLA trailed just 45-43 after another Yearsley triple, but then it was all Vikings. A quick 7-0 burst starting things off as Bryan converted on a drive and Javier Osario drilled a triple to key the spurt. Back to back Josiah Green three pointers a few minutes later increased the margin to 63-47 forcing an MCLA timeout. The timeout didn't slow down the Vikings though as they would outscore MCLA 10-2 over the next two minutes and pull away. MCLA never got closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
Bryan was 5-12 from the floor for his 16 point night. Other Vikings in double figures included Jarret Byrne, Green, Osorio, and Deven Okowuga. Salem State shot 51% from the floor in the win while holding MCLA to just 36% on the night.
MCLA was led by Hayden Bird's game best 22 point night. He was just 8-23 from the field however and 3-11 from beyond the arc. Yearsley ended with 20 points on 6-16 shooting, but was 5-11 from deep. Dylan Morris-Gray returned to action and collected 16 points off the bench for MCLA.
The Trailblazers are back in action on Saturday when they head to Worcester State to continue conference play.