Men’s Basketball Comeback Falls Short Against Salem State
Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team mounted a second half comeback as they connected on seven second half threes, but it was not enough as they were defeated 64-54 by Salem State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this afternoon at the Athletic Center.
With the win, the Vikings remain unbeaten in the MASCAC at 7-0 and are now 13-7 overall, while the Rams slip to 4-15 on the year and are now 1-6 in the conference.
With the game tied at four in the opening minutes of the contest, the Vikings rattled off a 10 minute, 20-3 run highlighted by a Shayheim Davis (Boston, Mass.) bucket in transition and jumper from junior Marcus Faison (Cambridge, Mass.) to open up a 24-7 advantage. The Rams countered with a spurt of their own capped by a three from senior Joe McCabe (Canton, Mass.) to head to the locker room trailing 34-20.
The Vikings extended the lead to 18 points just over three minutes into the second half, but the Rams would not go away mounting a 17-4 run fueled by their shooting from behind the arc to cut the deficit to 42-37 with just over 13 minutes remaining. Junior Tim Mangano (Winchester, Mass.) drained a pair from long range during the spurt, while junior Patrick Gould (Quincy, Mass.) and senior Tim McCarthy (Wilmington, Mass.) each connected for one.
The Vikings pushed the lead back to 11 with a 6-0 run of their own that included a pair of buckets from Drew Healy (Lowell, Mass.), but the Rams cut the deficit back to single digits (59-51) on another Mangano three with just over a minute remaining. After a pair of Shaquan Murray free throws, senior Jacek Louisville (Worcester, Mass.) banked in a three to make the score 61-54, but the Vikings would score the final three points of the game from the line to seal the victory.
Faison led the Vikings with a double double effort of a game-high 24 points and a game-best 20 rebounds. Faison connected on 11-of-16 from the field with a pair of steals. Murray was the only other Viking to record double figures with 14 point, while Davis finished with eight points and six boards.
The Rams were led by a career-high 19 points from Mangano who connected on 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Sophomore Tony Alexandre (Hyde Park, Mass.) finished with a double double of his own as he scored 12 and grabbed a team-best 13 boards.
Both teams resume MASCAC action next Wednesday evening with the Rams hosting Bridgewater State at 8 p.m. and the Vikings traveling to Worcester State for a 7:30 p.m. game which will be played at WPI.