The Vikings (17-7, 9-2 MASCAC) were paced by senior forward Shawn Bloom of Springfield, junior swingman Eric Downie of Medford, junior center Joseph Walker of Waltham, junior forward Brandon McCombs of Springfield and junior guard Marty Harrington of Beverly.
Salem went on a 17-4 run with 6:55 to play in the opening half to take a 47-39 lead into the break. The Bears (14-9, 7-4 MASCAC) fired up 17 first half three-point attempts, making just six while Salem was successful on three of nine attemps from beyond the arc.
Downie and Bloom led the first half comeback with 12 points each followed by McCombs with 11 and Walker with eight. Walker contributed seven first half boards while Bloom added five. Harrington dished out four first half assists.
Salem maintained its lead after the intermission as Bloom, Downie, McCombs, Walker and Harrington continued to lead the way. Downie and Bloom topped all scorers with 22 each followed by Walker with 18 and McCombs with 15. Harrington finished with team-highs of seven assists and six steals.
Junior forward Derek Thompson led all Bridgewater scorers with 20 while junior forward Tyler Lang grabbed a game-high 16 boards to go along with 15 points for the Bears. Tom Cuddihy and Cliff Furtado added 18 and 10 points, respectively, for the visitors.
Salem and Westfield will enter the final weekend of the MASCAC regular season in a first place tie with 9-2 records. Salem will play at Worcester while Westfield will play Mass. College of Liberal Arts.
Newspaper Box Score Bridgewater State College vs Salem State College 02/16/06 8:00 PM at Salem, MA (O'Keefe Center) At Salem, MA (O'Keefe Center) SALEM STATE COLLEGE 88, BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE 80 BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE 14-9 (7-4) Derek Thompson 7-10 6-9 20; Tom Cuddihy 6-14 0-0 18; Tyler Lang 5-13 3-4 15; Cliff Furtado 4-9 0-0 10; Adam Rose 3-8 1-1 7; David Rukstalis 2-10 0-0 4; Damian Shakespeare 1-5 2-2 4; Ryan Devereaux 0-1 2-2 2; Roland Millien 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-70 14-18 80. SALEM STATE COLLEGE 17-7 (9-2) Eric Downie 6-19 10-12 22; Shawn Bloom 8-14 3-3 22; Joseph Walker 8-15 2-2 18; Brandon McCombs 7-13 0-2 15; Marty Harrington 0-6 5-6 5; Dylan Holmes 2-7 0-0 4; Isaiah Bradshaw 1-3 0-0 2; Ramon Cruz 0-1 0-2 0; Alex Finn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-78 20-27 88. Bridgewater State College..... 39 41 - 80 Salem State College........... 47 41 - 88 3-point goals-Bridgewater State College 10-33 (Tom Cuddihy 6-12; Tyler Lang 2-4; Cliff Furtado 2-7; Damian Shakespeare 0-1; Ryan Devereaux 0-1; David Rukstalis 0-3; Adam Rose 0-5), Salem State College 4-13 (Shawn Bloom 3-4; Brandon McCombs 1-2; Marty Harrington 0-3; Isaiah Bradshaw 0-1; Ramon Cruz 0-1; Joseph Walker 0-1; Eric Downie 0-1). Fouled out--Bridgewater State College-None, Salem State College-None. Rebounds-Bridgewater State College 47 (Tyler Lang 16), Salem State College 46 (Joseph Walker 9; Brandon McCombs 9). Assists-Bridgewater State College 16 (Derek Thompson 7), Salem State College 14 (Marty Harrington 7). Total fouls-Bridgewater State College 20, Salem State College 14. A-800