Shawn Christian scored 23 points, while Ralph Diaz, Jordan Forbes and Marko Tutunovic each posted a double-double as Salem University pulled away in the second half for an 88-72 victory over Central State University in NCAA Division II men's basketball Wednesday at Wilberforce, Ohio. The win was Salem's sixth in its last seven games, including two wins over the Marauders in a span of eight days.
 
The first eight-plus minutes of the second half saw six lead changes and three ties before Malique Ross's three-pointer gave Salem (10-7) a 65-63 lead. After Central State evened the score, Diaz broke the tie with a layup and Christian hit back-to-back three-pointers during an 11-0 run that put the Tigers ahead to stay 76-65 with 7:07 left to play.
 
The Tigers limited Central State (7-8) to just a single free throw over the span of nearly seven minutes before Theo Howard's three-point play with 4:35 remaining pulled the Marauders within 76-69. Central State made it a two-possession game with 3:36 left, but Salem held the Marauders scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
 
Christian hit a pair of three-pointers in the final 98 seconds as Salem scored the game's final 10 points. Coincidentally, Salem used a late 10-0 run to rally past Central State 77-75 January 7 at T. Edward Davis Gymnasium.
 
Salem started the game 9-for-11 from the field, including three-pointers by Christian, Ross and Marko Tutunovic as the Tigers built a 23-17 lead with 13:01 left in the first half. Central State outscored Salem 17-2 over the next six minutes before layups by Christian triggered and capped a 10-0 run to put the Tigers back on top 35-34 with 5:09 remaining.
 
After Central State used an 8-2 run to take a 42-37 lead, Fonz Hale answered with a three-pointer and drove the left baseline for a layup to tie the game with 43 seconds left. Central State called a timeout with 11 seconds left and Harris Brown's layup beat the buzzer to give the Marauders a 44-42 halftime lead.
 
Forbes finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds to go with a game-high six assists. Tutunovic had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Diaz added 13 rebounds and  game highs of 14 rebounds and five steals.
 
Salem shot 56.1 percent from the field for the Tigers' highest field goal percentage since shooting 56.3 percent in the Tigers' season-opening victory over West Virginia Wesleyan.
 
Brown led all scorers with 25 points for Central State.
 
Salem has a 10-day break before traveling to Bluefield State College January 25. The Tigers' next home contest is February 6 against Chowan University.