SALEM, W.Va. – The Salem University men's basketball team dropped the second game of the Joe Manchin Classic to Concord 93-76, Sunday night.
With the loss, Salem falls to 7-4, while Concord jumps to 8-2.
Salem posted a shooting percentage of 48.3 (29-60), while Concord shot 50 percent from the field (29-58). Concord outshot the Tigers from behind the arc, as Concord netted 16 threes, to Salem's 10.
Concord shot 55.56 percent (10-18) from the three-point line in the second half, while the Tigers shot 36.66 percent (4-11) from behind the arc in the second half. Salem was also outrebounded by the Mountain Lions 30-24.
Senior
Malik Toppin recorded his second-straight and sixth double-double of the year as he produced 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, meanwhile senior
Christopher Shields added 18 points, posted five rebounds and dished out five assists.
Sophomore
Shawn Christian was the only other Tiger to post double-digit scoring, as he netted 18 points on 4-of-8 from three.
In the first half, the Tigers and Mountain Lions battled back and forth as freshman
Fonz Hale knocked down a three to give the Tigers a 22-20 lead over Concord with 9:25 left in the first half.
About a minute later, Christian hit a shot from behind the arc to tie the game 25-25, but Concord ensued a 7-0 run to take a 32-25 lead with 5:15 left in the first half.
A three-pointer with just a few seconds left in the first half from Shields, cut the Concord lead down to four, as the Tigers trailed the Mountain Lions 42-38 at intermission.
In the second half, a three from David Mulumba gave Concord a 56-45 lead over the Tigers with 15:55 left in the contest. At 7:09 a layup by Hale closed the gap as the Tiger trailed by eight, 73-65, but this was as close as Salem got for the remained of the game.
Concord held its largest lead of the game at 21 with 1:37 left in the game.
The Mountain Lions were led by Tommy Bolte who had a game-high 35 points and a game-high 12 assists, while Jair Rodgers netted 26 points. The two combined for 61, over half of Concords total points.
The Tigers are back on the court Wednesday as they host West Virginia Wesleyan at 7:00 p.m.
