WENHAM, Mass.—A strong offensive showing in each half helped visiting Salem State close out Gordon Men's Basketball 92-82 on Tuesday evening at the Bennett Athletic Center. Senior forward Marcus Faison (Cambridge, Mass.) was hard to stop on his way to 31 points and 10 boards to lead the Vikings to a big non-conference victory.
Salem State and Gordon traded leads for much of the first sprint in the first half with neither team holding more than a four-point advantage. Gordon's Noah Szilagyi (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Graham Tienhaara (Holden, Mass.) took turns bring the Scots back to even at the midway point of the half.
Led by Faison's high-percentage effort in the first half, the Vikings were able to finally claim momentum in the second 10-minute frame of the opening half. Aided by a significant scoring drought for the Scots, Salem State was able to quickly pile up a 10-point advantage with under five minute to go before halftime. Gordon was able to temporarily cut things back to eight points, but a 5-0 run to end the half gave Salem State some big momentum at 44-31.
The Vikings ran the lead out to 16 points early in the second half, but Gordon began chipping away with a transition offense that worked much better than it did in the first. Three times the Fighting Scots were able to close the gap to a two-possession contest, but could never capitalize on moments to make it even closer.
Salem was able to hit enough free throws down the stretch before running the clock out for a 10-point triumph.
Faison's big double-double on 11-of-16 shooting was the story of the evening. The senior also added two steals and two blocks. Alexander Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) had 16 points at the off guard spot and seemed to always hit his shots in big moments where the tide was starting to turn in Gordon's direction. Shaquan Murray (Boston, Mass.) had 13 and a game-high five steals, while Shyheim Davis-Smith (Boston, Mass.) had an effective 11 points, four boards and three steals off the bench.
Sam Johnson's (Chatham, Mass.) double-double streak moved to six games with a 19-point and 12-carom performance. The senior also added three assists and two blocks. Garrisson Duvivier (Brockton, Mass.) had 14 points and three assists despite his foul trouble. Jaren Yang (San Francisco, Calif.) continued his strong play with 16 points in 21 minutes, while Josh Ribeiro (Attleboro, Mass.) was solid off the bench with 10 points and three blocks.
Gordon falls to 2-2 on the season and will host Eastern Nazarene next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The Fighting Scots won the rebound battle for the fourth time this season despite the loss.