Salem drops 51-49 decision to Carrollton

SALEM — A Salem rally in the fourth quarter came up just short as the Quakers dropped a 51-49 decision to the Carrollton Warriors in Eastern Buckeye Conference boys’ basketball action Friday night in John A. Cabas Gymnasium.

Trent Fink leads Salem with 12 points

Guard Trent Fink was the top scorer in the game for the Quakers with 12 points. Lance Bailey was also in double digits with 10 points and Cam Sampson had nine points.

Salem head coach Jeff Andres said his team played hard throughout the contest.

“I’m proud of the guys, they’re resilient and they keep coming in and working hard,” commented the Salem head coach.

Carrollton was led by Lincoln Mallarnee with 20 points

Carrollton (7-10 overall, 5-3 in the conference) was led by 6-0 senior Lincoln Mallarnee with 20 points, including 15 at the free-throw stripe. Andrew Birong had 15 points for the Warriors before fouling out of the game.

“It was a very physical first half, we didn’t turn it over and we were very strong with the ball,” said Carrollton head coach Mike Aukerman.

Carrollton was successful in gaining a majority of the 50-50 balls, which gave them extra offensive opportunities.

“That (grabbing 50-50 balls) was what I kept preaching in timeouts, it’s going to come down to a loose ball or come down to a rebound,” noted the Carrollton head coach.

Salem is now 3-10 overall and 0-8 in conference action but has lost many close games, including Friday night’s contest.