Salem, Mass. -- Hamed Akanni's (Fitchburg, MA) scored 18 points and added seven rebounds to help the Salem State Vikings stave off the Hawks of Becker College with a 68-62 victory Saturday afternoon at Twohig Gymnasium. The Vikings improve to 7-5 this season while the Hawks move to 6-4 with the defeat.
Jon Perez (Weymouth, MA) sparked an 8-0 with a three-pointer that gave the Vikings a 16-10 lead with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half. After a slow start to the game, Nicholas Grassa (Lynn, MA) gave Salem State their largest lead of the period with a deep three-pointer that set the margin at nine with 4:30 left. A minute later David Maturah (Windsor Locks, CT) knocked down a mid-range jumper that started a small 6-0 run to close the half to bring Becker to within one, 28-27 at the half.
Despite forcing five Hawk turnovers, the Vikings' defense allowed 14 points in the paint as Rashaun Liggon (Elizabeth, NJ) led Becker with six points and seven rebounds in a low scoring first half. Salem State's rebounding became more aggressive on the offensive end as they added 12 points off second chance points, led by Drew Healy (Lowell, MA) who grabbed five rebounds and finished the half with five points. It was Akanni however, who sparked Salem State's offense early on, creating space off the dribble to total six points off 3-6 shooting. As a team, the Vikings shot below average, shooting 30.6% from the floor on 11-36. The Hawks shot slightly better at 37.0% on 10-27.
The Vikings' improved their efficiency in the offensive end drastically in the second half shooting 13-23 and raising their shooting percentage to 56.5%. However, Becker's big men continued to dominate down low, including having four of their forwards score in double digits. Scott Dulaire (Bloomfield, CT) scored 13 points while Liggon finished with a double- double grabbing 12 rebounds and adding 14 points. Maturah also ended with 13 points including a two-handed dunk from the baseline to give his team a three point advantage midway through the second half. Two possessions later, Dulaire gave his team a four-point lead with a powerful dunk which, would be their largest lead for the remainder of the night as the Vikings went on a 5-0 run to regain the lead at 44-43 with 9:32 left. Tariq Tate (Walpole, MA) finished a layup that would put Salem State atop 51-50, a lead they would hold onto for the rest of the game as a couple of made free throws secured a 68-62 victory.
Salem State's bench continued to stay productive as they outscored the Hawks bench 23-0 in the game. Becker stuck to their five-man rotation throughout the majority of the game as their bench totaled just eight minutes of play.
The Vikings will travel on January 6th to face-off with the Huskies of the University of Southern Maine at 7:00 p.m. Becker takes the court again on January 10th when they host a conference game against the Lynx of Lesley University.