Men’s Basketball Stops Salem State, 77-58

BOSTON – Suffolk men's basketball rallied around an 18-0 run in the first half to and used double-digit point performance by five Rams to hand Salem State a 77-58 setback Saturday afternoon at Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 77 | Salem State 58
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-0) | Salem State (1-1)  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• It was see-saw action from the get-go as the lead swapped three times and the score locked once to see Salem State with a 12-11 edge with eight minutes removed from the scoreboard in the first half. 
• The visitors managed to couple back-to-back hoops together, one inside the arc and the next beyond, to put the blue-and-gold in a five-point, 27-22, hole, with 5:10 to go before halftime. 
• Suffolk went on a tear the rest of the way as it scored 18 unanswered to build a 40-27 cushion. Harrison Neil and Marquis White were crucial cogs in that scoring stretch as the junior and freshman supplied four points and five points, respectively. 
• The Vikings managed to end their scoring draught as Ali Barry converted a trip to the free throw line to three points to make it a 10-point distance in the Rams' favor, 40-30, when the teams went to the locker room. 
• Suffolk compiled a 12-2 spurt in the first 3:09 of the second stanza to take a 20-point, 52-32, advantage. James Jones had four points in that span, while Nick Verdile and Declan Davis supplied a bucket from downtown each. 
• Salem State slowly closed the gap to 11, 56-45, with 8:27 to play, which forced Jeff Juron to take a full timeout. 
• Two minutes out of the huddle, Greg Keane threw down back-to-back dunks and Verdile converted his fourth triple of the afternoon to extend the margin to 17, 65-48.
• Suffolk did not allow the Vikings to creep closer than 15 over the final five minutes as back-and-forth play consumed the final quarter of the contest, that the Rams captured, 77-58.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Neil notched an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double with five assists and one steal. 
• Jones supplied 14 points on a 7-for-15 effort from the field to go along with four boards, four helpers, two takeaways and one block. 
• Keane had 14 points as well behind a 7-for-11 performance from the floor with five dunks. He added four caroms, three swats and one dime. 
• Verdile shot 4-for-8 from the floor with all his buckets from behind-the-arc to finish with 12 points. The junior pitched in four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
• Davis pitched in 11 points on a 4-for-9 conversion rate that included a 3-for-8 effort from 3-point range.
• As a team, Suffolk shot 46.9 percent (30-64) on the afternoon, 43.5 percent (10-23) from downtown and 77.8 percent (7-9) from the charity stripe. 
• The Vikings, that had three players in double figures, outrebounded the rams, 49-40. 
• Suffolk converted six points in transition compared to Salem State's zero. 
• The Rams turned the Vikings 15 turnovers into 19 points. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk moved to 13-11 in the all-time series with Salem State as it defeated the Vikings for the fourth straight meeting. 
• The Rams are now 7-2 at home against Salem State. 
• Suffolk improved to 4-1 versus SSU under Juron's guidance. 
• Neil had his first double-double as a Ram. 
• Keane (points, fg made), White (assists), Davis (fg made, points, assists) and Neil (rebounds, assists, ft made) all produced personal bests.
• Connor Crist, Zach Harvey-Seutcheu, Ryan Moore and Max Neelley made their collegiate debuts. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk hits the road Tuesday, Nov. 18 when it heads to No. 4 Tufts for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference tilt.