WHEELING, West Virginia - Before a brief holiday hiatus, the Salem men's basketball team hit the road this evening to take on the Wheeling University Cardinals. Salem played a tight ball game with the Cardinals the whole way, but fell victim to a late Wheeling surge and fell by a score of 75 to 62.

For the first half, Salem opened the game slowly as Wheeling jumped out to an early lead. However, the Tigers battled right back behind Ashraf Tchadouwa controlling the paint for the Tigers, and some hot shooting from Khemanni Davis. From there, the game settled into a tightly contested back and forth game with neither team truly taking control of the game. By the end of the half, Salem maintained a tight 35-34 lead thanks to a late three pointer from Nils Baumeisters. 

In the second half, the game opened in much the same way as the first half. Each team traded blows, and the Tigers got some good offensive output from Ian Hardy and Brandon Francois. However, Wheeling took control of the game midway through the half, and foul trouble plagued the Tigers down the stretch. Ultimately, the Cardinals were able to pull away with the 75-62 win. 

On the stats sheet, Salem was led by Khemanni Davis with 16 points. Ian Hardy added a double double behind him with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Ashraf Tchadouwa was the final Tiger in double figures with 10 points. 

While tonight's result was certainly not ideal for Salem, they will be back in action after the holiday break this week. They play host to Clinton College in a home exhibition on Saturday, November 25th at Noon in T. Edward Davis Gymnasium.