Courtesy Salem State Sports Information

Salem, Mass -- Salem State broke open a close game at halftime and raced past MCLA 80-67 Tuesday night at Twohig Gymnasium, in the first round of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference tournament. The #3 seed Vikings (11-15), advance to the semifinals and will visit second-seeded Framingham State on Thursday night. MCLA, the #6 seed, finishes its season at 9-16.

Trailing by one at the break, the Vikings seized control, scoring the first 11 points of the second half, while the Trailblazers missed 15 of their first 16 shots. Nick Linear (Salem, MA) hit a pair of free throws and a three-pointer in the run, as Salem State turned a 38-37 deficit into a 48-38 lead.

MCLA managed to stay close despite its field goal futility, thanks to converting 5-6 from the line. When Brendan Kordana (Adams, MA) scored on a layup with 12:16 remaining, the Trailblazers were within seven, 52-45. But a pair of Tristian Shannon (Andover, MA) hoops ignited an 11-2 run, and MCLA never recovered. SSC kept the margin in double digits the rest of the way.

Linear led the way for Salem State, scoring a team-high 18 points, shooting 5-7 from the field and 7-8 from the line. Shannon added 13, Dan Clark (Deerfield, MA) had 12, and Tavone Wynder (Boston, MA) had 11. Jon Greenburg (Antwerp, Belgium) had game-highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Trailblazers, before fouling out. Kordana and Chris Harris (Dorchester, MA) finished with 10 points.

The Vikings shot 43% from the field, while MCLA shot 40% including just 31% in the second half. The teams were nearly even on the glass, with the Vikings outrebounding the Trailblazers 39-38.

Courtesy Worcester State Sports Information

Worcester, MA --- Senior Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI) netted 26 points with seven rebounds to help #4 Worcester State defeat fifth-seeded Fitchburg State 72-64 this evening in the quarterfinal round of the MASCAC Men's Basketball Tournament  at the Lancer Gymnasium.

With the win the Lancers (13-13) will advance to the MASCAC semifinals to face off against top-seed Bridgewater State at 7 PM on Thursday evening. The Falcons end their 2009-10 campaign at 8-18.

Freshman Tim Henault (Lunenburg, MA) chipped in with 13 points off the bench while junior Ryan Testagrossa (Athol, MA) handed out eight assists. Sophomore Jamaal Atkins (Webster, MA) grabbed 16 boards as he now has 36 in his last two games after he pulled down a career-high 20 caroms in Saturday's triumph over Salem State.

Fitchburg State was propelled by senior Colin London (Worcester, MA/Doherty) who poured in a game-best 28 points while he also added 13 rebounds. Junior Ryan Hopkins (East Hartford, CT) notched 17 points with five boards while senior Tim Graham (Arlington, MA) finished with seven points and eight rebounds.

After five ties and three lead changes through the first 10 minutes of play, the two squads were knotted 16-16 before the Falcons used a 14-4 spurt to open up a 30-20 advantage at 5:31. Worcester State got as close as seven points twice, but FSC led by 11 at the half.

Hopkins led all scorers in the opening frame with 17 points while London contributed 16.

The Lancers would gradually whittle down the lead to one point in the second period as they used a 10-2 run to open up the stanza (39-38). A trey by junior Rolffi Canela (Perth Amboy, NJ) made the score 42-38 at 13:52, but the Falcons committed four miscues in consecutive possessions to help put Worcester State on top 44-42 at the nine minute mark.