CHARLESTON, West Virginia - With the long wait finally behind them, the Salem Tigers men's basketball team got the chance to take the court in their season debut Friday night as they took on the Charleston Golden Eagles. It was also the head coaching debut for Salem head coach Vince Thibodeau, who took over the defending USCAA Division I Champion squad from Brett Rector last spring. Salem kept it close with the regional power Golden Eagles the whole way, but ultimately fell by a score of 78-63.
In the first half, the Tigers showed little rust as they took an early lead in the game thanks to opening baskets from Ian Hardy. The Golden Eagles went basket for basket with Salem for much of the first half. Salem kept things close with strong play from backcourt duo Brandon Francois and Jack Garrison IV. However, Salem was foiled by a late first half run from Charleston, and the game went into the intermission with a scoreline of Golden Eagles 38, Tigers 26.
After the break, Salem showed they were going to give the Golden Eagles everything they had offensively and defensively. Ashraf Shadow controlled the paint for the Tigers with the majority of his 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks coming in the second half. Salem kept the pressure on, and brought the deficit as low as 2 in the final few minutes of the game. Unfortunately, it was Charleston who found the key points down the stretch to put the game just out of reach for the Tigers, and Salem fell by a score of 78-63.
Despite the loss, there are certainly some areas to get excited about for the Tiger faithful going forward. Ashraf Tchadouwa led the Tigers with his aforementioned double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds alongside a pair of blocks. Jack Garrison IV and Ian Hardy each added 14 points to round out the Tigers in double figures.
Salem will be looking for a rebound performance in the second competition they have this weekend at the season opening neutral site event hosted by Charleston. That game will be against local rivals Glenville State and will be played in Charleston on November 11th at 2 PM.
