Salem State Silences Fitchburg State, 72-60
Nicholas Grassa (Lynn, Mass.) lifted the Vikings of Salem State University to a 72-60 win over the Fitchburg State Falcons at Twohig Gymnasium on Thursday night.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
29 | 31 | 60 |
|
|
36 | 36 | 72 |
Team Stats
Salem St.
| Game Statistics | Fitchburg St. | Salem St. |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (24-55) | (26-54) |
| Field Goal % | 43.6% | 48.1% |
| Rebounds | 31 | 35 |
| Assists | 10 | 12 |
| Turnovers | 16 | 14 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 12 | 19 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 10 | 14 |
| Bench Pts | 16 | 19 |
Ingram-Rubin leads Falcons offense with a team-best 26 points
SALEM, Mass. (January 9, 2014) – Nicholas Grassa (Lynn, Mass.) lifted the Vikings of Salem State University to a 72-60 win over the Fitchburg State Falcons at Twohig Gymnasium on Thursday night.
Grassa scored 16 points, including 5-8 from three-point range to help the Vikings improve to 1-0 in the Massachusetts Collegiate Athletic Conference and 8-5 overall. The Falcons fall to 0-10 overall and 0-1 in the MASCAC.
Fitchburg State head coach, Titus Manderson made his return to Salem State for the first time since taking the Falcons head coaching job. Manderson spent nine seasons as an assistant with the Vikings and was welcomed by the Salem crowd.
Salem State's Hamed Akanni (Fitchburg, Mass.) had three early fade-aways down low to spark the Vikings offense. Fitchburg State senior Mike Ingram-Rubin (Boston, Mass.) was an offensive force scoring 13 points with three assists in the half, but a tip-in from Robert Morin (Lee, Mass.) started a 14-2 run that gave the Vikings a 33-27 lead late in the half. Andrew White (Medford, Mass.) closed out the half with a block and scored four straight points to help the Vikings lead 36-29 at halftime.
Akanni lead the Vikings on another 10-2 run to start the second half that put Salem State ahead 47-33 with 17:00 remaining. Grassa came alive in the scoring 13 points on 4-5 shooting from beyond the arc. The Falcons inched within eight when Ingram-Rubin knocked down a mid-range jumper with 10:00 left but that's as close as the Fitchburg State would come over the final stretch.
Senior Mo Molin (Brookline, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points for the Falcons, while Ingram-Rubin finished with 26 points, six assists, and five rebounds for the Falcons. Akanni finished with 19 points and seven rebounds, and Bryan Ortiz (Salem, Mass.) added 11 points for the Vikings,
Salem State will play again on Tuesday night at home against Worcester St. at 7:30 PM. Fitchburg St. will take to their hardwood at 3:00 PM on Saturday against Framingham St.