Men’s Basketball Drops 99-90 Decision to Salem State

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team absorbed a 99-90 loss to Salem State Thursday evening at the Lahue Athletic Center.

The Lions slip to 1-2 on the season with the result while the Vikings improve to 1-0 overall.

Nick Manso (Brick, N.J.) poured in a game-best 28 points to go with four assists. Bernie McGuinness (Cumming, Ga.) notched a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Levi Grady-White (Springfield, Mass.) also registered a double-double, netting 14 points and grabbed 10 boards. Corey McGhee (Alexandria, Va.) tallied 16 points while Ka'Shaun Swan (Lawrenceville, Ga.) added 11 points off the bench.

The home side snagged a six-point edge with 16:08 left to play in the first half as Manso sank a free throw, 11-5.

The visitors strung together a 20-0 run to claim a 29-15 advantage with 8:29 remaining in the opening frame.

Salem State carried a 53-32 lead in the halftime intermission after Chris MacDonald drilled a corner-trey in the final seconds of the period.

The Vikings widened the gap to 25 with 17:04 to go in the second stanza as Connor Byrne banked in a put-back layup, 63-38.

Eastern Nazarene trimmed the deficit to nine points with 5:34 remaining on a three-pointer by McGuinness, 83-74.

The Lions pulled to within five, 86-81, as Grady-White drained the second of two free throw attempts with 3:41 left to play.

The guests converted 5-of-6 attempts from the charity stripe in the final minute to cement their first win of the year.

Eastern Nazarene shot 45.5% from the floor and connecting on 12-of-30 from beyond the arc on the night. Salem State finished with a field-goal percentage of 53.8% to go with a 9-for-21 showing from three-point range.

Sean Bryan and MacDonald each scored 19 points to lead the Vikings while Josiah Green and Connor Byrne both netted 15 points. Deven Okowuga chipped in with 13 points off the bench while Jarret Byrne posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hosts Maine Maritime November 13.