RENSSELAER, IN - Despite receiving a team-high 22 points from junior Saquan Epps and a career-high 17 points from freshman Josh Carpenter, the Salem International University Tigers dropped a 122-80 decision to Saint Joseph's College on Friday night (Nov. 25) in NCAA Division II men's basketball action.

The Tigers will face Grand Valley State University at 6 pm on Saturday, November 26 in the Consolation Game of the SJC Thanksgiving Classic. Grand Valley dropped a 76-72 decision earlier in the day on Friday against Upper Iowa University.

Epps tallied his 22 points in 22 minutes on the court, coming off of the bench for the Tigers. Epps went 9-for-13 from the floor and 2-for-4 from downtown with four rebounds. Carpenter hit 70 percent (7-for-10) of his shots in 20 minutes of action for SIU while going 2-for-2 at the free throw line.

The Pumas would have little trouble jump-starting their offense in the early portion of the game against the Tigers. SJC shot over 50 percent from the floor and from three-point range. The Pumas went 18-for-33 overall and 10-for-19 from three-point range in the first half of action.

SIU would hit just 37.9 percent of its shots (11-for-29) and finish without a three-pointer (0-for-9) in the first stanza. The Tigers went 5-for-7 at the charity stripe, while the Pumas were 7-for-14. The quick-start for the Pumas would give them a 53-27 advantage heading into halftime.

The benches for both sides would come into play in the second half with the Tigers and Pumas trading buckets. SIU found its scoring touch in the second 20-minutes, hitting 61.1 percent of its shots from the floor. The Tigers also would drain four three's in the second stanza, only to be out-shadowed by the Pumas 12 three's. SJC set a school record on the night by draining a total of 22 three's on 38 attempts. Davone Daniels paced the Pumas with six three's, while teammate Eric Gillespie connected five times from downtown.

Freshman Jarius Farrow finished the night with nine points for the Tigers, while junior Hollis Alexander tallied eight points and four assists for SIU. Junior Jordan Robinson and senior Victor Blakey added seven points a piece for the Tigers with Blakey dishing out a team-high five helpers. The Tigers bench accounted for 56 of the teams 80 points. SIU forced the Pumas to turn the ball over 20 times and would turn it into 20 points on the night.

Daniels would finish the night 8-for-10 from the floor and 6-for-8 from downtown to tally 23 points, while Gillespie registered 17 points and four assists for the Pumas. Chris Nunn recorded a team-high eight helpers for SJC. The Pumas received a 75-point effort from their bench and forced SIU into 19 turnovers that resulted in 23 points being scored.