1/19/2010 10:12:09 PM
Salem, Mass. -- Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, MA) scored a game-high 23 points and Royce Veal (Dorchester, MA) added 22, as Framingham State overcame a seven-point deficit to beat Salem State 74-67 Tuesday night at Twohig Gymnasium. The Rams improved to 6-8 on the season, 2-2 in Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference play. Salem State dropped its first league contest and fell to 3-12, 2-1.
The Vikings took a 38-33 lead into the halftime locker room and expanded it to 42-35 thanks to a pair of buckets by Brian Clark (Deerfield, MA) in the opening minutes of the second half. But Framingham State roared back, ripping off a 17-3 run to take a seven-point lead of its own. Darius Yarrell (Brockton, MA) tallied a pair of fast-break hoops, and Almodovar added a pair of jumpers and two free throws to fuel the surge.
SSC clawed back and cut the deficit to one, 57-56 after a Clark jumper with just over seven minutes remaining, but Almodovar's lay-in and a three-pointer by Billy Carey (Abington, MA) expanded the lead back to seven, 63-56. The Vikings would get no closer the rest of the way, as the Rams hit 5-6 free throws in the final minute to salt away the game.
Clark finished with 21 on 9-16 shooting to lead the Vikings, while Tristian Shannon (Andover, MA) added 12 and a game-high 10 rebounds. Nick Linear (Salem, MA) was the third SSC player to reach double figures, finishing with 11 points. Roderick Jackson (Cambridge, MA) added 12 for the Rams. SSC shot 38% from the floor and was just 12-24 from the free-throw line. FSU hit 43% of its shots, and was 21-27 from the line.
The Rams led throughout the first half, with a lead as large as five, 25-20 with six minutes remaining. Clark scored seven of the Vikings' next nine points, as Salem State pulled even, 29-29. Shannon and Nate Simpson (Lowell, MA) gave SSC its first lead of the game when they each converted a pair of free throws, and buckets by Brian Marvie (Worcester, MA) and Simpson gave the Vikings a 38-33 halftime advantage.
The Vikings return to action Tuesday night when they host Fitchburg State at 8 p.m.