SALEM, MA. – Regis College used a 13-0 run midway through the first half and took advantage of 26 Salem State turnovers to defeat the Vikings 81-74 in the opening round of the Salem State University Holiday Classic Wednesday night at James Twohig Gymnasium. The Pride improved to 7-3 on the season, while the Vikings fell to 3-4.

With the game tied at 12 in the early going, the Vikings seized an early advantage with an 8-2 run, led by a pair of hoops from Nate Simpson (Lowell, MA) , and sandwiched by buckets from Jamal McCollum (Boston, MA) and Apollos Wade (Taunton, MA). Wade's jumper put SSU on top 20-14, however, the Vikings would not score again for nearly six minutes.

Phil Alibrandi (York, ME) stopped the Viking run with a three-point play, and consecutive layups by Derrick Neal (Boston, MA) gave Regis the lead for good. The Pride increased its edge to 27-20 before Tavone Wynder (Boston, MA) buried a jumper, but John Thompson (Seekonk, MA) hit a long jumper at the halftime buzzer to give the Pride their largest lead of the half, 43-30.

The Vikings clawed back to within six midway through the second half as free throws by Brian Clark (Deerfield, MA) and Wade cut the deficit to 61-55. However, the Pride hit 11-of-15 free throws down the stretch, and Ryan Chambers (Abington, MA) hit a back-breaking three-pointer to ensure the victory for Regis.

Alibrandi led four Pride in double figures, finishing with a game-high 16 points. Neal and Kandley Val (Boston, MA) added 13 apiece and Chambers finished with 12. Regis shot 49.1% from the field (28-57) and was 22-30 from the free throw line. Salem State was led by Simpson and Clark, with 13 apiece, while Nick Linear (Salem, MA.) added 12 points and Tristian Shannon (Andover, MA) had 11. SSU was also victimized by poor shooting from three-point range, as the Vikings were just 4-17 from beyond the arc.

The Holiday Classic concludes Thursday, when the Vikings face Williams at 7 p.m., preceded by Regis vs. North Park at 5 p.m.