SALEM, W.Va. - Salem International University picked up a much needed win over visiting WVU-Tech, 83-72, on Saturday in non-conference men's basketball action at the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium.

Salem improves to 2-10 (0-4 G-MAC). WVU-Tech drops to 13-5.

Falling behind 19-11 just seven minutes into the game, it looked as though the Tigers were going down the same road that they have been down 10 times this season. However, Tyler Bell's back-to-back trey's sparked a 12-3 run that put Salem on top, 23-22, with 9:10 on the clock. Fast-forward to just 4:22 on the clock and the score tied at 28. Back-to-back three's, a layup, and another three, followed by a Matt Thomas three at the buzzer gave Salem the largest lead of any team (9), 42-34, going into the break.

In the second half, the Tiger's pushed the lead out to double-digits twice only to see the pesky Golden Bears cut the lead as little as 3 points five times and 2 points late in the game. However, with WVU-Tech being forced to foul as the seconds ticked off the clock, Salem would shoot 8-for-11 from the foul line to seal the win.

Tyler Bell chipped in 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, while Gerard Tarin and Abel Tillman proved to be dynamic in the paint, scoring 10 apiece. Tarin led the effort on the boards with 7 rebounds, while Tillman had 6 blocked shots.

WVU-Tech was led by Jauries Thomas' and Sharife Sergeant's 16 points apiece. Jaren Marino had 15, Ra'Shaud Kincaid had 12, and Leon Cooper Jr. added 11.

While the Golden Bears held an astounding 50-31 advantage on the board, Salem's defense forced 29 WVU-Tech turnovers, which led to 32 total points. The Tigers held a significant advantage in the paint, outscoring Tech 38-28.

Salem will step out of G-MAC play again on January 13th when they travel to Lebanon, IL to take on McKendree. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm EST.