Philippi, WV - 12 treys for Salem International University wouldn't be enough to pick up a win against Alderson Broaddus on Wednesday night (Jan. 25). A strong finish to the first-half pushed the Battlers past the Tigers 86-70 in NCAA Division II men's basketball. Junior Ignacio Rodriguez paced the Tigers with 19 points, while Malik Bocook recorded a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

The Tigers will get a couple days rest before returning to action at home against Chowan University on Wednesday, February 1. Tip-off between the Tigers and Hawks is set for 7 p.m. and will follow the completion of the SIU women's basketball contest. This will be the second-meeting of the season between the two teams, with Chowan earning a 98-65 victory on their home-court.

Rebounding and second-chance points proved to be huge for Alderson Broaddus in the opening stanza, tallying 14 points on extra opportunities. The Tigers led for a total of 6:07 in the first-half and would take their largest lead (16-10) after senior Dominique Robinson earned the old-fashioned three-point play with 14:18 remaining in the half. The tide would change though for the Tigers with Sanar Shamdeen catching fire for the Battlers. Shamdeen connected on all four of his shots from the floor, including one from downtown just before the buzzer sounded to end the first-half.

The lead for Alderson Broaddus at the break would be 38-25 with both teams scoring eight points in the paint.

The Battlers wouldn't lose any momentum while in the locker room, opening their lead to as many as 19 points in the second-half. SIU had one of its best performances of the season from downtown in the second-half, shooting 50 percent (8-of-16) while trying to keep pace with the Battlers. Alderson Broaddus seemed to answer every SIU run with a huge bucket at its end of the court. Bocook led the charge for the Battlers, scoring 15 of his 23 points down the stretch while adding two blocks and two steals.

SIU trimmed the Battlers' lead to seven points on three separate occasions, with freshman Jarius Farrow doing so after draining a pair of free throws with 5:41 remaining in the contest. The game would close with the Battlers heading to the free-throw line several times in the final 60 seconds of play. SIU tallied the final bucket of the game, with Robinson converting on a layup in the paint to make it 86-70 Battlers.

Rodriguez led four SIU players to finish with double-digit scoring performances. Freshman Josh Carpenter finished with 15 points, going 5-of-8 from downtown, while Robinson recorded 13 points and five rebounds. Senior point guard Victor Blakey tallied 12 points, six steals, and nine helpers for the Tigers.

Shamdeen finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and three assists for Alderson Broaddus, while teammate Jordan Haywood recorded 17 points and six rebounds. Chavez Harper also recorded a double-double for the Battlers with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Tigers went 24-of-63 from the floor, 12-of-30 from downtown, and 10-of-11 at the free-throw line, while Alderson Broaddus went 30-of-57 from the floor, 11-of-25 from downtown, and 15-of-22 at the free-throw line. The Battlers out-rebounded SIU 45-26, while both teams tallied 22 points in the paint. The Tigers finished with 11 points off of turnovers and 16 second-chance points, while the Battlers scored 15 points off of turnovers and 18 on second-chance opportunities.