SALEM, W.Va - The Salem International University men's basketball team fall in their Great Midwest Athletic Conference opener, 107-93, to Trevecca Nazarene Thursday evening at the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium.

Salem sliped to 0-5 overall and 0-1 in the G-MAC. TNU improves to 3-5 and 1-0 in the conference

After a back-and-forth first half, Salem found themselves in a 22 point hole (79-57) with 12:42 on the clock and it looked like Trevecca Nazarene had the game on cruise control. However, the Tigers wouldn't go away. Over the next four minutes, Salem went on a 22-9 run to cut the lead to single digits, 88-79.

Gerard Tarin (Fort Myers, FL) started out the run with a layup assisted by Jamal Robinson (Washington D.C.). A missed trey by TNU led to a long rebound and Robinson layup. After TNU's Jalen Palm missed the front end of a one-and-one, Robinson was good on two free-throws to cut the lead 79-65 with 11:41 remaining. The Tigers continued to make the Trojans pay for missed shots when a missed layup led to a three by Matt Thomas (Harlem, NY). Trevecca responded by making two freebee's, but Robinson answered with a layup to make the score 81-70 with 11:04 on the clock. After the teams traded blows, Ignacio Rodriguez (Islas Baleares, Spain) sank a three ball and a Tarin got an easy bucket off the SIU full-court press to get deficit down to single digits, 88-79, for the first time since the first half. However, that's as close as Salem would get in the game.

For the contest, Salem shot a season high 50.7% from the field (38-75) and showed much needed patience on the offensive end. TNU an equally impressive 56.3% from the field (36-64). Salem had 17 turnovers while the Tojans turned the ball over 20 times.

Salem was led by Gerard Tarin's 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including a 7-of-10 performance from the line. Jamal Robinson had 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 4-fo-5 from the charity stripe. Matt Thomas scored 13. Byron Sanford led six TNU double-digit scorers with 28 points.

Salem will be back in action on Saturday to take on Kentucky Wesleyan at the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium. That game is scheduled for 4:00 pm. Live Stats and Video will be available at the SIU Stretch Internet Portal.