LEBANON, Ill. (Dec. 16) – The Tigers were handed an 80-56 loss by McKendree in non-conference play Wednesday evening.
 
The loss drops the Tigers to 3-8 this season, while the Bearcats improve to 6-3 overall.
 
Senior Tyler Bell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Central) led Salem International with 14 points, while junior Conrad Etchi (Burtonsville, Md./James H. Blake) chipped in 13 in the loss. Junior Parris Purcelle (Greenburgh, N.Y./Irvington) added 10 points, while junior Victor Blakey (Suitland, Md./Friendly) finished with three points, three steals and dished out a team-best seven assists.
 
The game went back-and-forth for the first 10 minutes, before the Tigers opened up a 26-21 lead with 8:01 remaining in the first half after a dunk by sophomore Saquan Epps (Upper Marlboro, Md./Frederick Douglass).
 
Salem International maintained the lead for the next five minutes, until a 10-1 run to close out the first half by McKendree gave the hosts a 38-34 lead heading into the locker rooms.
 
The Tigers scored the first points of the second half to pull within two, but Salem International would not get any closer. McKendree limited the Tigers to 8-of-27 (30 percent) from the field in the second half, including 1-of-7 from beyond the arc, to earn the win. Meanwhile, the Bearcats finished the second half shooting 52 percent (15 of 29) to pull away in the contest.
 
McKendree was led by David Franklin, who tallied a game-high 26 points in the win.
 
Salem International will finish off the 2015 portion of its schedule when it travels to Erie, Pennsylvania on Sunday, Dec. 20 to take on Mercyhurst at 3 p.m.