Box Score Shawn Christian scored a game-high 29 points as Salem University opened its 2019-20 men's basketball season on a winning note with a 104-84 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan College Monday at Buckhannon, W.Va. Christian was one of three Tigers to reach the 20-point mark as Jordan Forbes added 26 points and Ralph Diaz finished with 20 points.
 
Salem (1-0) led by as many as 17 points in the first half before West Virginia Wesleyan (0-3) used a 17-3 run to pull within 38-35 with 2:22 left before halftime. The Tigers halted the Bobcats' spurt with the final seven points of the half as Forbes hit a layup and Malique Ross converted his own steal into a layup. Diaz hit a three-pointer with two seconds left to push Salem's lead back to double digits at 45-35 to end the first half.
 
Ross extended Salem's scoring run to 10 unanswered points with a three-pointer just 23 seconds into the second half. West Virginia Wesleyan got as close as 11 points on multiple occasions in the first nine-plus minutes of the second half, but three-pointers by Christian. Forbes and Scott McCann helped the Tigers prevent the Bobcats from cutting the margin to single digits.
 
After Forbes' three-point play gave Salem a 77-59 lead with 9:14 left to play, West Virginia Wesleyan made one final run. The Bobcats pulled within 80-69 on Daylin Lee's three-pointer with 5:53 remaining. Diaz converted a three-point play on Salem's next possession and Forbes hit a pair of three-pointers to extend the Tigers' lead to 92-73 with 3:07 left.
 
Forbes sank a pair of free throws with 2:05 remaining to give Salem its first 20-point lead and the Tigers reached the century mark 11 seconds later on Christian's two free throws. The Tigers' biggest lead was at 104-81.
 
Christian's three-pointer with 15:41 left in the first half put Salem on top 9-8 and the Tigers led the rest of the contest. Marko Tutonovic's steal and layup with 11:45 remaining gave Salem its first double-digit advantage at 22-11.
 
A pair of three's by Christian and a layup by Diaz helped the Tigers build their biggest lead of the half at 35-18 with 5:48 left. West Virginia Wesleyan scored the next 14 points to get back into the game before Salem pulled away again.
 
Tutonovic, who had five steals, finished with 10 points to give Salem four double-figure scorers. Diaz pulled down a team-high eight rebounds as the Tigers outrebounded the Bobcats 37-28.
 
Salem shot 60.0 percent (36-for-60) from the field, including 18-for-32 from three-point range. The Tigers were also 14-for-19 from the free throw line.
 
Lee and Dusan Vicentic led five Bobcats in double figures with 20 points apiece. West Virginia Wesleyan connected on 17 shots from three-point range.
 
Monday's contest was the first of three games this week for Salem. The Tigers travel to California University (Pa.) Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off, then play their home opener Saturday afternoon against Tiffin University. Saturday's contest is part of a doubleheader with the Salem women's basketball team.