Box Score
RALEIGH, N.C. (Nov. 14, 2017) – From the opening tip, the Shaw University Bears' defense swarmed the Salem University Tigers men's basketball team, trapping the ball at half court on Salem's first two possessions and forcing turnovers for easy points.
When Salem figured out the pressure defense, Shaw dropped into a 2-3 zone, walling off the paint and jumping passing lanes as the Tigers tried to thread passes through narrow windows in pick-and-roll.
The Tigers committed 12 of their 22 turnovers in the first half, surrendering 18 points off turnovers to fall behind 36-50 in the first half, digging too large a hole to come back all the way back from in an 85-93 loss on the road.
With the loss, Salem drops to 1-1 on the season while Shaw improves to 2-1.
Salem University's turnover problems were mostly of the live ball variety (committing five early) and, compounded by a poor shooting performance (10-for-36, 27.8 percent from behind the 3-point line), fueled an 18-4 Bears' advantage in fastbreak points.
The Tigers' offense was flustered early, rushing 3-pointers to beat defensive rotations and pressure and attempting to force the ball middle before moving the defense first. This created a trickle-down effect that deteriorated Salem's defense, allowing Shaw to get downhill to shoot 56.1 percent from the field despite only hitting 27.8 percent from deep.
Malik Toppin led the Tigers with 29 points and 10 rebounds on an efficient 12-for-15 shooting, with many of his points a direct gauge of the Tigers' ball movement.
Late in the first half, Salem began puncturing the zone with interior passes from the wing, quickly reversing the ball, attacking closeouts with drives and hitting Toppin with a drop off pass for a dunk, setting the tone for the second half.
On the Tigers' first possession of the second half, point guard
Reggie Oliver connected on a lob from near the half-court line to Toppin for the alley-oop dunk. A possession later,
Ignacio Rodriguez grabbed a long offensive rebound and immediately attacked the rim, finding Toppin for another dunk. A few possessions later, Toppin's third dunk in three minutes brought the Tigers back within 10 at 44-54.
Jesse Pistokache caught fire for a stretch in the second half, scoring 17 of his 23 points, including all four of his 3-pointers to keep Salem within striking distance.
But while the offense flowed with more movement and life, the defense struggled to closeout possessions on key plays, making several blocks or deflections only to have the ball bounce back in Shaw's hands for momentum-breaking buckets—allowing two Shaw players to hit the 20-point mark with DeAngelo Stephens scoring 20 points and eight assists with no turnovers, and Savon Goodman scoring 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting.
In addition to Toppin and Pistokache,
Jarius Farrow scored in double digits with 13 points and sixe rebounds, shooting 5-for-10 from the field.
Jordan Robinson led the bench with 10 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The Tigers will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 18, hosting Tiffin University at 2 p.m.
