GREENSBURG, Pa. (Feb. 17, 2018) — In a tale of two halves, the Salem University Tigers men's basketball team faltered late against the Seton Hill Griffins, losing 90-81. 

Through the first half, Salem flexed much of its full potential offensively, showcasing a balanced, steady attack with multiple contributors. 

Each of Salem's primary ball-handlers flashed different skill sets, mixing up the Tigers' offense and providing multiple points of attack, keeping Seton Hill off balance with brilliant execution.

Point guard Darren Montgomery showed great poise running the offense, forming nice chemistry with center Malik Toppin in the two-man pick-and-roll game to finish with 10 points and four assists with no turnovers in the first half. 

On one possession, Salem ran some beautifully intricate screen-the-screener action; having Olamilikan Ojo set a baseline corner screen for Reggie Oliver, who feinted at take a route to the top of the key only to set a down screen for Toppin, which flowed into a high pick-and-roll with Montgomery. 

The action worked to delay Toppin's defender in Seton Hill's man-to-man defense, removing what normally was a hedging coverage and giving Montgomery a head of steam downhill after a right-to-left crossover to burst past the late-arriving secondary defender. 

On another possession, Montgomery had Toppin re-set the screen at a different level of the court, creating a better attack angle and taking advantage of back line defenders too focused on the dive, turning the corner, drawing a crowd and hitting Toppin on the dump-off pass for the layup. 

Oliver was a little more dynamic, being a more potent scorer, manipulating the back line defender by feinting towards a screen in the middle only to reject it and drive baseline, slithering through for the layup.

The Tigers also freed him with some hammer action, setting up a back screen off-the-ball on the weak side while Montgomery drove baseline on the opposite side, firing a pass for the corner 3-pointer—giving Oliver seven points on 3-for-5 shooting in the first half. 

Jordan Robinson had few numbers in the box score, but was patient within the offense, letting plays develop and putting teammates (Ferlandis Penny, in particular) in a position to succeed, stringing out a hedging defense to buy time for the big man to set up against the smaller rotating weakside defender, or swinging the ball quickly for a teammate to have a better passing angle into the post. 

With all the attention the Tigers' primary action drew, Brett Bowling was able to work on the periphery to score 11 first-half points, sniping from the outside to hit 4-for-5 from the 3-point line. 

Eight different Salem players scored in the first half, as the Tigers assisted on 10 of their 17 field goals, finishing 51.5 percent from the field in the first half, including 6-for-15 (40 percent) from the 3-point line. 

That execution stalled in the second half. After combining for 21 points in the first half, Bowling and Montgomery were held scoreless in the second. (With the offense stagnating, Bowling only attempted two 3-pointers in the second half). 

Turnovers plagued Salem again, committing 11 in the second half after only five in the first, spotting Seton Hill nine points in the second. 

More problematically, the Tigers' defense came apart at the seams. Whether against zone or man, Griffin's ball handlers were afforded straight-line drives to the rim, sometimes with impunity. 

Rim contests with perfect verticality from Salem's front court turned into late rotations and reaches, giving Seton Hill 21 free-throw attempts in the second half, of which they made 15. 

Trevor Blondin let Seton Hill with 32 points and three assists as constant source of offense, scoring 16 in each half and grabbing eight rebounds. Nathan Davis came on late, scoring 11 second-half points and finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds. 

Oliver led six Salem players in double figures with 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting. Toppin posted another double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while front court partner Marko Tutunovic had 14 points and eight rebounds, attack closeouts with the dribble and slicing to through the lane. Bowling had 11 points, Montgomer scored 10 with five assists, and Ignacio Rodrigues scored 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting in 14 minutes before fouling out. 

With the loss, Salem drops to 6-18 on the season, including 1-12 on the road. The Tigers will return to action on Feb. 21, hosting Central State at 7 p.m. for senior night on the last home game of the season. The Tigers finish the season on Feb. 24 at Bluefield State College.