Salem, WV – Salem University men's basketball finished their final home game of the calendar year with a victory over West Virginia Wesleyan College, 85-75.

Fonz Hale and Barron Tanner led all scorers with seasons highs, Hale with 28 and Tanner with 24. Tanner was especially efficient for the Tigers going 9-12 (75%) from the field, include six threes. Other key players for the Tigers included Rodney Smith who came away with five rebounds and Tobias Howard Jr. contributing six assists and four rebounds on the night.

The Bobcats took the lead early, but the Tigers fought back after Hale found Darius Bell on the fastbreak to go ahead by one. The Tigers faced a five-point deficit with two minutes left in the first half. The Tigers closed out the first half on an 11-1 run to take them into the half with the 39-34 lead. Tanner contributed nine of the 11 for the Tigers with back-to-back-to-back threes.

The Tigers started the second half strong, scoring seven consecutive points to extend their lead to 12. The Tigers had their largest lead of the night at 16 at the 13-minute mark from a midrange jumper by Kapone Barley. The Bobcats pulled within four with five minutes remaining but could not take down the Tigers.  

Up Next

The Tigers will be back in action Wednesday at Davis & Elkins College with tip-off at 6 p.m.