Salem, Mass. -- Hamed Akanni (Fitchburg, MA) led the Vikings with 21 points as Salem State cruised past the visiting Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth 89-73 at Twohig Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings even their record to 2-2 while the Corsairs slip to 2-2.
Salem State came out firing on all cylinders with a 13-0, run early in the first, sparked by an Anthony Hodges (Worcester, MA) jumper. The Corsairs' Jake Laga (Northampton, MA) scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half to keep UMass Dartmouth in the game, helping cut a 17-point deficit to 12, 42-30 before the half.
In the second, Andrew White (Medford, MA) and Akanni combined for 17 points as the Vikings built a 19-point lead. Salem State shot 53.6% (37-69) and forced 20 Corsairs turnovers to win going away.
Chris Parenteau (Lancaster, MA) scored 18 points and added 11 rebounds while White finished with 12 points, seven assists and five steals to lead the Vikings.
Corsairs freshman guard Ryan Walsh (N. Dighton, MA) had 20 points from the field to lead all UMass Dartmouth scorers. Alex Rodrigues (Fall River, MA) added 11 points as the Corsairs finished the game shooting just 27% (27-71).
The Vikings will host the Fighting Scots of Gordon College on Tuesday, November 26th at 7:30pm at the Twohig Gymnasium. UMass Dartmouth will play Worcester State at Clark University on December 3rd at 7:00pm.