VIENNA, WV - Junior Ignacio Rodriguez led the Salem International Tigers with 23 points on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11) but it wouldn't be enough in the end as Kyle Davis went 8-of-15 from three-point range to pace the Ohio Valley University Fighting Scots to a 109-99 victory NCAA Division II men's basketball action.

Rodriguez finished the game 7-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-10 from downtown, and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line and paced four other Tigers who scored in double-digits. Junior Jordan Robinson finished 7-of-13 from the floor 4-of-6 from three-point range to record 19 points for SIU while adding four assists. Junior Saquan Epps added 17 points for the Tigers, while seniors Victor Blakey (14 points, nine assists) and Dominique Robinson (11 points, eight rebounds) rounded-out the double-digit performances for SIU.

SIU returns home to host Malone University on Wednesday night (Feb. 15) at 7 p.m. The Tigers then hit the road to face nationally-ranked Kentucky Wesleyan before wrapping up the season at home for senior night on Wednesday night (Feb. 22) vs the Fighting Scots at 7 p.m.

The Tigers would score the first six points of the contest and eventually take a 10-2 lead with just over 17 minutes remaining in the opening stanza after a pair of made free throws by Rodriguez. Kyle Davis and Luka Djordjevic would lead the rally for the Fighting Scots as they closed a 14-5 deficit down to 14-11. With 12:12 left in the half, a jumper from Djordjevic knotted the score 18-18.

OVU would take the lead for good (23-20) with 11:04 left in the half as Davis drained one of his six first-half treys. Rodriguez trimmed the deficit to 31-28 with a pair of made shots at the charity stripe, but an onslaught of made treys by the Fighting Scots stretched their lead to 37-29. OVU closed-out the half with a layup in the final 30 seconds to take a 53-44 lead into the locker room over the Tigers.

Davis tallied 25 points for OVU in the first-half, going 9-of-15 from the floor and 6-of-9 from downtown. The Fighting Scots went 10-of-19 from downtown while the Tigers went 2-of-9. From the free-throw line, SIU finished the half 10-of-12 while OVU went 1-of-4.

Robinson attempted to lead the come-back train for SIU in the second-half, scoring 16 of his points for the Tigers. Robinson would go 4-of-5 from downtown, while Rodriguez went 3-of-5. Blakey recorded seven of his nine helpers in the half and went 6-of-7 at the free-throw line for SIU.

Despite shooting hitting more shots from the floor (20-of-47) and more treys (8-of-16), SIU would see the Fighting Scots go 17-of-27 at the free-throw line to put enough distance between the two teams. Djordjevic (15 points) and Avery Williams (13 points) guided the Fighting Scots in the second-half

OVU had its largest lead of the game (63-52) after a made three by Davis but see it trimmed to 63-59 after a three from J. Robinson with 15:34 remaining. Freshman Jarius Farrow tallied the final bucket of the game for SIU with 31 ticks left to cut the OVU lead to 109-99.

Davis finished the game with a game-high 35 points for OVU and went 12-of-23 from the floor. Djordjevic recorded 25 points and six assists for the Fighting Scots, while Williams tallied 17 points, 11 rebounds, and a team-high eight assists.

The Fighting Scots finished the contest 38-of-76 from the floor,15-of-33 from downtown, and 18-of-31 at the free-throw line while SIU went 36-of-80 from the floor, 10-of-25 from downtown, and 17-of-21 at the free-throw line. OVU out-rebounded SIU 46-43 while the Tigers out-scored the Fighting Scots 36-20 in the paint.