Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – UMass Dartmouth was ultimately upended by turnovers, as Salem State registered 26 points off the Corsairs' blunders and saw three players hit 20-plus points to secure an 89-73 victory in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday.
The Basics
Score: Salem State 89, UMass Dartmouth 73
Records: Salem State 1-0 | UMass Dartmouth 0-1
How it Happened
After Salem State jumped out to a small lead within the first eight minutes, the Corsairs gathered their first lead of the evening when junior Tucker Bouchard (Kingston, Mass.) put in a layup. Several minutes passed of leads trading before the Vikings opened up a 10-0 run with two minutes remaining in the first half. Shaquan Murray (Boston, Mass.) hit six of game-high 22 points during the run, and the Vikings settled into the break with a 45-34 advantage.
The Vikings chipped away in the second half, taking advantage with 16 points off 10 UMass Dartmouth turnovers to extend the lead. Back-to-back layups by Murray complete with a Shyheim Davis-Smith (Boston, Mass.) steal put the visitors' lead to its highest point of the evening at 18. The Corsairs cut the lead back down to 11 following consecutive 3-pointers by Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.) and Abi Akanni (Fitchburg, Mass.), but the Vikings built the advantage back to insurmountable before the final whistle.
Inside the Numbers
- Salem State's Marcus Faison (Cambridge, Mass.) and Alex Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) both registered 20 points, with Faison leading all players with 13 boards.
- UMass Dartmouth saw four players hit double-figures, led by Nick Portelance's (Fairhaven, Mass.) and Atakan Akcam's (Hoosac Falls, N.Y.) 14.
- Chris Mendes (Somerset, Mass.) dished out a career-high six assists to lead all players, adding in 11 points and eight rebounds.
- Bouchard saw competition for the first time since the 2013-14 season, making his comeback with seven points, a block and a steal in 12 minutes.
- Another difference in the contest was free-throw performance; the Vikings shot 83 percent (10-12) from the charity stripe while UMass Dartmouth converted only 53 percent (8-15).
Up Next
The Corsairs will host the annual Hampton Inn Classic this weekend, opening the two-day event against Trinity (Conn.) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Salem State will participate in Eastern Connecticut's tournament this weekend, beginning with Middlebury on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
