Salem, Mass. — Freshmen guard Sean Bryan's (Lowell, MA)  three-pointer with five-seconds left completed a 17-point comeback as the Vikings of Salem State clipped the Bears of Bridgewater State 69-68 in the semifinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference playoffs Thursday night. The victory pushed the 2 seed Vikings into the championship game against the 5 Lancers of Worcester State, which upset top seed Fitchburg State on Thursday night. The championship will be played on Saturday Feb 25, at 1:00 p.m. at Twohig Gymnasium on the campus of Salem State.

After a fast start offensively, the Vikings' production came to a screeching halt for a three-minute span at the 16:00 mark. The Bears limited Salem State's backcourt of Alex Santos (Lawrence, MA) and Shaquan Murray (Boston, MA) during that stretch while Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, MA) led Bridgewater State to an 18-10 lead with five points in that time.  The Vikings had trouble securing the basketball as they committed six turnovers, which the Bears converted into 11 points. Midway through the half, the Vikings found themselves trailing by eight points for a three-minute span, but were able to cut that deficit to just one after Shyheim Davis-Smith  (Boston, MA) and Marcus Faison (Cambridge, MA) converted on two gritty plays in back-to-back possessions. Bridgewater State retaliated to regain a 30-23 lead with the help of Patrick McGuiness's (New City, NY) tenacious defense that led a steal and fast break layup with 1:25 on the clock. Faison however, answered for the Vikings, scoring four points in 20 seconds that cut the deficit to 30-27 at the half. Faison led all players with 11 first half points while collecting five rebounds.

Fawaz Mass (Taunton, MA) and the Bears took over in the beginning of the second half as he sparked an 11-2 run that gave the Bears a 52-35 advantage with 12:21 remaining in the half. With their season looking like it may come to an end early, Jacob Lindland (Hamilton, MA) put Salem State on his back. The junior guard replenished the home crowd and his teammates with the energy they desperately needed by knocking down four three-pointers in a two-minute span that cut the deficit to just five-points, putting the game at 58-53 with just over seven minutes remaining. Bridgewater State quickly rebuilt a 10-point lead as Keyon Armstrong (Medford, MA) and Joseph Carty (Natick, MA) connected from the outside.

Defensively, the Vikings forced 12 turnovers in the second half to shift momentum. Lindland wasn't done providing clutch moments as he drilled another three-pointer to give Salem State their first lead, 65-64 since the opening minutes of the game with two-minutes on the clock. After Mass gave the Bears a 67-65 lead, Murray cut Bridgewater State's lead to a point, 67-66 by hitting one of two free throws after a McGuiness foul. Mass was fouled on the next possession by Rayshaw Matthews (Boston, MA) which removed Matthews from the game. After Mass hit one free throw, Salem State called their final timeout to draw up a play with just 18 seconds remaining. With all eyes on the hot hand of Lindland, the Vikings were forced to go elsewhere with the ball. Checking into the game for the first time in the half, freshmen point guard Bryan was forced to shoot from three-point range after the Bears swarmed Lindland. With a man in his face, Bryan's shot hit nothing, but net to secure the 69-68 victory as Salem State advances to Saturday's MASCAC final against Worcester State.

That epic three-pointer was Bryan's only points of the game. Faison led the Vikings' with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Lindland added 15 points on 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Mass anchored the Bears with 22 points and eight rebounds while DeAndrade added 14 points on 6-8 shooting.

Salem State will be seeking their first MASCSAC Tournament championship since 2012.