Holmes Carries Salem State to 79-66 Triumph Over Worcester State

Salem State 79, Worcester State 66

Box Score

Salem, MA --- Salem State senior forward Dylan Holmes (Groton, MA) tossed in a game-best 21 points with six rebounds and four blocks to help the Vikings post a 79-66 victory this evening over Worcester State on the last weekend of MASCAC basketball action at Twonig Gymnasium.

With the seeding set for next weeks MASCAC Tournament after tonight’s action, the fifth-seeded Lancers (12-13, 5-7) head to #4 Framingham State on Tuesday at 7 PM in the quarterfinal round. The winner will take on top-seeded Salem State (20-5, 10-2 MASCAC) on Thursday at 7 in the semifinals.

Sophomore Nick Linear (Salem, MA) notched 17 points with five steals while senior Stevie Celestin (Somerville, MA) contributed 14 points with four assists. Junior Tom Henderson (Grafton, MA) grabbed a match-high 12 rebounds while senior Ricky Ogboin (Brighton, MA) handed out eight assists with four blocks.

Worcester State was lead by junior Maurice Horton’s (Detroit, MI) 16th double-double in 25 games as he poured in 20 points with 10 boards and three assists. Senior Jamaal Ford (Worcester, MA) also tallied a season-high 18 points with six three-pointers while junior Darren Schmidt (Shelburne Falls, MA) recorded 11 points.

The games opening 12 minutes saw three ties and four lead changes until Salem State emerged with a 23-22 advantage on a Linear lay-up at 7:13. With SSC nursing a 31-32 lead 2½ minutes left in the first period, the Vikings outscored Worcester State 9-4 to take a 41-34 game into the intermission.

Salem State came out of the locker room with a furious 9-0 run over the first four minutes of the half to take a 50-36 lead to set the pace for the rest of the stanza. Leading 53-42 at the 14:07 mark, WSC went on an 8-2 spurt to close the gap to five points at 11:18 (55-50), but that was as close as they would get.

From that point the Vikings would go on a 19-6 run to open up a 74-56 lead with 3:55 left to cruise ahead for the win.

SSC held a 44-40 rebounding edge while they also held a 20-10 advantage in second chance points. Salem State also dominated the paint (40-16) and both teams finished even in points off of turnovers (18-18) while Worcester State controlled the offensive glass with 18 boards compared to 16 Viking caroms.

Salem State also finished forcing 22 Lancer miscues and they finished the game with a season-best 13 blocks.