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Bryce Lausier vs. Salem State
Mike Anquillare, Ath Comm Student Employee
Bryce Lausier had 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists vs the Vikings
76
Winner Salem St. SALEM ST 3-7
70
Southern Me. SOUTHERN 5-3
Winner
Salem St. SALEM ST
3-7
76
Final
70
Southern Me. SOUTHERN
5-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Salem St. SALEM ST 39 37 76
Southern Me. SOUTHERN 41 29 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Christina Cracolici, Director of Athletic Communications

Salem State Rallies Past Southern Maine 76-70

GORHAM, Maine   –   Tyrese Rho scored a team-high 22 points to lead three players in double-figures as the Salem State University Vikings rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to defeat the University of Southern Maine Huskies 76-70 in a non-conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.
 
Rho was 8-for-14 from the field, adding three assists and three steals for the Vikings.  Omri Merryman added 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting, while Nicholas Martinez had 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Liam Byrne had a game-high 10 boards to go with eight points.
 
Junior Thomas Whelan (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) led all scorers with 24 points on 8-for-17 shooting adding four steals. Graduate student Bryce Lausier (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) had his six double-double of the season with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Junior Diego Colon (New Braunfels, Texas) added 12 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.
 
The Records:
Salem State (3-7)
Southern Maine (5-3)
 
Series History:  Today's game marked the 97th meeting between Salem State University and Southern Maine. The Vikings leads the overall series 59-38. Today's game is the first meeting between the two schools since the 2016-2017 season – a 91-60 Vikings' victory. Salem State has won the last six matchups consecutively. The Huskies last defeated Salem State 80-70 on January 13, 2005 in Gorham, Maine.
 
How It Happened:
  • After giving up the first points of the game to Salem State, the Huskies dominated the majority of the first half and raced out to a 17-point, 25-8, lead with 12:35 to go in the first half. Salem State's Merryman scored the first bucket of the game before the Huskies used a 19-1 run over the next 5:30 to lead 19-3. Lausier scored eight of the Huskies 19 points in the run.
  • A layup and a free throw from Nelson Obarisiagbon stopped the Huskies run, making it a 20-8 game, before USM scored five more consecutively on a three from sophomore Justin Allen (Franklin, Mass.) and a layup from sophomore Madden White (Newport, Maine/Nokomis Regional) to snag its largest lead of the game.
  • Salem State responded with a 7-0 run keyed by a three from Merryman to make it a 10-point contest with 11:18 to go, and the Vikings settled into claw their way back.
  • Colon hit a three for the Huskies at 8:29 remaining to keep USM in front by 15, 34-19, before the Vikings used a 12-0 run over the next 3:44 to make it a one-possession game, 34-31, with 4:52 until half. Rho had six of the Vikings' 12 in the run. From there both teams exchanged points, and the Huskies took a slim 41-39 lead into the break after a pair of free throws from Whelan.
  • In the second half, LJ Hicks tied the game to start for the Vikings with a jumper and the game settled into a back-and-forth contest. A dunk from Rho at 9:06 left put the Vikings ahead 59-58, but the Huskies' Lausier responded with a layup on a feed from Colon to return the game to the Huskies 60-59.  Lausier's bucket was the first of an 8-0 run that included back-to-back threes from Whelan to give USM a 66-61 lead with 6:23 on the clock.
  • After Whelan's second three in short order, the Vikings answered back with a 10-0 run to surge ahead 71-66 with 3:36 on the clock. Merryman had five of the Vikings' 10 points, while Rho went coast-to-coast for the 10th points.
  • The Huskies pulled to within four, 74-70, on a pair of Whelan free throws with less than two minutes to play, but the Vikings were able to force Southern Maine to go 0-for-3 in its final possessions and hold for the 76-70 win.
 
Inside The Stats:
  • Southern Maine shot 41.9 percent (26-for-62) in the game. The Huskies were 16-for-32 in the first half, but cooled to a 10-for-30 effort in the second half.  Salem State shot 47.6 percent (30-for-63).
  • Both teams committed nearly identical turnovers. Salem State turned the ball over 21 times, and the Huskies had 22 miscues.  The Vikings, however, scored 25 points off of USM turnovers compared to 11 points for Southern Maine.
 
 
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns to Little East Conference action on the road at Rhode Island College on Wednesday, December 11 (7:30 pm), and then will host Keene State College on Saturday, December 14 (1:00 pm).  The Huskies then head to Texas for the Concordia Classic on December 29-30.
 
 
-cac-
 
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