SALEM, W.Va. (Dec. 5) - Led by five players in double-figures, the Tigers earned a 103-77 win over Bluefield State in non-conference play Saturday afternoon at the T.Edward Davis Gymnasium.

The win improves the Salem International University men's basketball team to 2-5 this season, while the Blues fall to 0-8 overall.

Sophomore Gerard Tarin (Fort Myers, Fla./East Lee County) registered a double-double with team-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds in the win. Junior Conrad Etchi (Burtonsville, Md./James H. Blake) added 21 points, classmate Parris Purcelle (Greenburgh, N.Y./Irvington) tallied 20, sophomore Saquan Epps (Upper Marlboro, Md./Frederick Douglass) chipped in 14 and senior Tyler Bell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Central) finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and a team-best six assists.

Bluefield State led 20-17 with 10:13 remaining in the first half, but the Tigers mounted a 20-10 run over the next five minutes to take a 37-28 lead.

The Blues cut the lead to seven, 42-35, with 3:20 left in the first half, before Salem International assumed total control of the game. The Tigers closed the half on a 14-2 run, with Purcelle throwing down a thunderous dunk-and-one and draining a buzzer-beating three pointer as the first half expired to propel the home team to a 56-37 lead.

Salem International continued to pull away after halftime. The Tigers out-scored the Blues 16-7 over the first five minutes of the second half to take a 72-44 advantage. Bluefield State pushed the game to 78-58 following a 9-0 run with 9:38 left in the game, but Salem International did not allow the Blues to get any closer to earn the victory.

The flow of the game was riddled with stoppages, as the two teams combined for 60 personal fouls. Both teams shot 73 percent from the line, with the Tigers converting 30 of 41 attempts at the charity stripe. Bluefield State finished 22 of 30 at the line.

The Tigers finished the contest shooting 65 percent from the field (35 of 54), while the Blues were limited to 39 percent (25 of 64) for the game. Salem International was dominant near the basket, holding a 56 to 34 advantage in points in the paint.

Salem International reached the 100-point mark for the first time since Nov. 18, 2014 when they lost at Asbury (Ky.) 109-104 in the season-opener last year.

The Tigers are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 8 when they head to Garden City, New York to take on Adelphi at 6 p.m.