Salem University rallied from an 11-point second half deficit to take a late lead, but Bluefield State College went back on top and hit 9-of-12 free throws in the final 95 seconds to defeat the Tigers 77-73 in NCAA Division II men's basketball Saturday at T. Edward Davis Gymnasium. Saturday's contest was Salem's regular season finale and the loss snapped the Tigers' 11-game winning streak.
 
Seniors Miles Dobson, Marqui Grant, Malique Ross and Marko Tutunovic were recognized during Senior Day ceremonies prior to tip-off.
 
Salem (18-8) trailed by three at the half and fell behind 51-40 with 12:27 left in the game. Bluefield State (11-12) maintained a two-possession lead until Jordan Forbes sank a pair of free throws to pull the Tigers within 61-59 with 6:09 remaining.
 
After Bluefield State pushed the lead back up to five points, Aleksa Dobrijevic hit a three-pointer and Ross followed with a driving layup to tie the game 64-64 with 3:23 left to play. The Blues regained the lead on a Marquez Cooper jumper, but Ross answered with a three from the top of the key to give Salem its first lead of the second half at 67-66 with 2:52 left in the contest.
 
The lead was short-lived as Alex Nunnally put Bluefield State ahead with a layup on the Blues' next possession. Salem failed to convert on each of its next four possessions and Bluefield State used the free throw line to extend its lead to 73-67.
 
Stan Smith pulled Salem within 73-70 and ended a 2 1/2-minute scoreless drought for the Tigers with a three-pointer from the right corner with 28 seconds remaining. Bluefield State answered with a pair of Chris Knight free throws and Teyon Henry blocked a Tiger layup attempt to keep it a two-possession game.
 
After Henry hit two free throws, Smith hit another three from the left corner with six seconds left. But Bluefield State was able to inbound the ball and run out the clock to hand Salem its first loss since January 5 and its first home loss since November 16.
 
Salem never led in the contest until Ross converted a three-point play with 5:28 left before halftime to put the Tigers on top 21-20. Bluefield State came back and built the lead to as many as five, but Smith's three-point play with 1:37 remaining knotted the score at 28-28. A Bluefield State free throw broke the tie and Nunnally's short jumper gave the Blues a 31-28 lead at the break.
 
Forbes notched his ninth double-double of the season with game highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds. Smith added 13 points for the Tigers.
 
Nunnally led five Bluefield State players in double figures with 16 points.
 
After four consecutive seasons with fewer than 10 wins, Salem has recorded at least 17wins in each of the last two years. The Tigers followed last year's 17-win season with 18 wins this year for a two-year record of 35-17 and a .673 winning percentage.