The Salem Capitals split a home-and-home back-to-back with the Vancouver Volcanoes on Friday and Saturday.
Friday night, at the Salem Armory Auditorium, the Capitals came back from a 15-point deficit in the second quarter, down 12 at halftime, to win 115-99.
The Capitals cut into the Volcanoes’ lead in the third, cutting it down to four at 78-74 to start the fourth quarter.
They opened the fourth with a 10-0 run to take a six-point lead, and led by as much as 24 after a 26-10 spree.
Vincent Boumann led the way for Salem with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Jason Smarr had 17 points, going 5-for-9 on 3-pointers.
The Volcanoes on the other hand were cold from beyond the arc, shooting just 27% as a team.
That changed on Saturday.
Vancouver led wire to wire at home in the O’Connell Sports Complex, going 12-for-26 on 3-pointers this time.
Markus Golder hit the Volcanoes’ first shot attempt, a 3-pointer, and they never looked back. The lead ballooned up to 16 in the third.
The closest the Capitals could get was 49-48 after trimming down a 10-point deficit in the second quarter.
Jaylyn Richardson dropped 33 points for the Volcanoes, 6-for-8 from three, and added 10 rebounds. Richardson had been ice cold Friday, shooting just 1-for-14 from the field for just 3 points, but made up for it Saturday with a blazing performance on the offensive end.
At the other end, Vancouver managed to contain Boumann. They held the Capitals big man to just 9 points on 4-for-11 shooting and 8 rebounds. Boumann averages more than 22 points and almost 11 rebounds a game this season.
The Capitals are now 12-4 after losing three of the last four games and drop to second in the West behind the 13-3 California Sea-Kings.
They’ll be at home this week for matchups with the Socal Moguls on Saturday, May 7, and another game with the Volcanoes on Sunday, May 8.
