Courtesy Widener Sports Information
Chester, PA -- Salem State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday night, with a 83-71 win over the Tigers of the Rochester Institute of Technology at Widener University's Schwartz Athletic Center.
The Vikings, making their 22nd appearance in the tournament, will play the winner of Widener-Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday night at 7.
Trailing by four with 16:16 to go in the second half, the Vikings (22-6) pulled ahead for good with a 12-0 scoring run that spanned 4:12. The end of the run saw the Vikings go up 50-42, and they would never be threatened the rest of the way. The Vikings would build the lead as high as 15 points.
Salem State, who received an at-large bid from the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference, put five players in double figures, paced by a game-high 22 points from sophomore guard Nick Linear. Senior guard Stevie Celestin added in 18, with senior center Dylan Holmes going for 11 points.
For the Tigers, the champions of the Empire 8 Conference, sophomore guard Shawn Roe had a team-high 16 points, with sophomore guard Nate Korinchak scoring 13.
Salem State was able to overcome a cold shooting first half (14-for-37) 37.8 percent and converted on close to 60 percent of its shots (17-for-29, 58.6 percent) in the second stanza on its way to the win.
In the first half, neither team was able to gain much of an advantage, as RIT took a four-point lead 2:17 in at 8-4 on a three-pointer by Roe. The Vikings answered back with a short 5-0 scoring burst to take its first lead of the game at 9-8 on a jumper by junior guard Brennan Bennett.
Salem State would get the lead to four (12-8) before the Tigers battled back to take a one-point lead at 13-12 with 14:30 left via a basket from senior center Mark Carson. The Vikings then darted out to its biggest lead to date at 18-13 with 12:19 left on a foul shot from Holmes.
RIT fought back, taking a three-point lead with just over eight minutes to go, but was never able to pull away. Salem State and RIT traded the lead nine times in the first half, with the Vikings taking a 34-33 lead at intermission.
In the second half, RIT got a four-point advantage twice, the last instance being a 42-38 lead with 16:16 left on a layup by Carson.
The Vikings owned a 40-32 advantage on the glass, with Ogboin grabbing ten rebounds. Carson had ten boards for the Tigers.
Celestin, who was a perfect 4-for-4 on three pointers, also had seven assists for Salem State, with Linear picking up four steals.