OWENSBORO, Ky. (Jan. 28) – Despite trailing by three points at halftime, the Tigers were defeated 99-66 by No. 18 Kentucky Wesleyan in Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) play Thursday night.
 
The Salem International University men's basketball team drops to 3-14 overall, 0-4 in league play. Meanwhile, the Panthers, ranked No. 19 in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 poll, improve to 4-1 in the G-MAC, 16-3 overall.
 
Sophomore Gerard Tarin (Fort Myers, Fla./East Lee County) led the Tigers with 18 points and five boards, while senior Tyler Bell (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Central) paced Tarin with 17 points off of the bench. Senior Jerry Sipple, III (Kansas City, Mo./Wyandotte) also reached double-figures with 13 points in the game.
 
Salem International and Kentucky Wesleyan exchanged the lead a handful of times in the first eight minutes of the game. Sophomore Saquan Epps (Upper Marlboro, Md./Frederick Douglass) drained a three points with 10:40 left in the first half to give the Tigers a 20-17 lead.
 
The Tigers led the No. 18 team in the country as late as the four-minute mark in the first half. Bell put Salem International up 33-31 with a pair of free throws, but the Panthers responded with a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to go up 41-35 entering the final minute of the opening half. The Tigers trimmed the deficit to three, 42-39, following a pair of made free throws with two seconds left until the break.
 
Salem International hung with Kentucky Wesleyan for the first few minutes of the second period. A layup by Sipple trimmed the Panther lead to three, 46-43, with 17:57 remaining in the game, but the Tigers did not get any closer.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan built its lead to 24 points, 74-50, with 11:08 left to play and controlled play in the final stages of the game to earn the win.
 
The Tigers struggled from beyond the arc in the second half, shooting six percent (1 of 15). Meanwhile, the Panthers shot 60 percent (21 of 35) from the field including 4-of-10 from long range, to squash the Tigers upset bid.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan had five players score in double-figures, led by Jordan Jacks who tallied 19 points in the win.
 
The Tigers will remain on the road and travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on G-MAC foe Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday, Jan. 30 with a tip around 9 p.m. (ET)