Salem, Mass. – Bryan Ortiz (Boston, Mass.) scored 13 points and Nicholas Grassa (Lynn, Mass.) added 12 points to lead a balanced-attack, as Salem State surged to a 76-64 victory over the Plymouth State Panthers on Thursday evening at Twohig Gymnasium. Salem State improves to 5-3 on the year while Plymouth State slides to 3-6.

Anthony Hodges (Worcester, Mass.) also played well, scoring eight points while dishing out four assists, but it was the Vikings' bench that provided a spark, highlighted by Drew Healy's (Lowell, Mass.) 12 points and eight rebounds and Shaquan Murray's (Boston, Mass.) nine points that helped Salem State to the 12-point win. Salem State received 39 points from its reserves

Neither team gained an edge early, as four lead changes led to a 20-20 tie with 9:35 remaining in the first. A Grassa three, and a steal, and five straight points by Hodges helped Salem State build a 31-22 lead late in the first. The Vikings staved off Plymouth the rest of the half, as Salem State's bench outscored Plymouth State 18-6. Jon Perez (Weymouth, Mass.) and Murray combined for 10 of the points, going a perfect four-of-four from the field. Alex Burt (Dover, N.H.) paced Plymouth State with 11 points before the break, and his free throw with two seconds left made the score 38-31 in favor of the Vikings at intermission.

Ortiz heated up with two quick three's to open up the second half as Salem State built an 11-point lead. The home team kept up the pace, and when Healey put down a forceful dunk, the Vikings' had opened up a 16 point bulge, 60-44 with 12:09 remaining. The Panthers offense disappeared as the visitors went without a field goal for over six minutes. Murray's layup put Salem State, which shot 55.6% (15-27) in the second half, up by their largest margin at 24 before both teams emptied their benches, which culminated in a 76-64 win for the Vikings.

Curtis Arsenault (Berlin, N.H.) contributed 17 points for the Panthers, while Ernie Johnson (Springfield, Mass.) added 16 points for Plymouth State, which shot just 37.5% (12-32) in the second half.

Salem State will travel to Endicott for a 1:00 PM game this Saturday while the Panthers are off until January 3rd when they travel to Eastern Connecticut for a 3:00 PM tip-off.