SALEM, West Virginia - While the exhibition win over the weekend did not count towards the overall season record, the Salem men's basketball team had a chance to build on that on-court success this evening. The Concord Mountain Lions came to town to take on your Tigers, and it was a closely contested matchup. Unfortunately, Salem would come up short against the Mountain Lions by a scoreline of 72 to 56. 

In the first half, Salem opened up the game well, and held an early lead due to some strong offensive play from Jack Garrison IV and Ian Hardy. However, Concord made some adjustments throughout the half, and the game remained close down the stretch. Concord made the Tigers earn every point, and they controlled the game at the half with a 39-20 scoreline favoring the visitors. 

In the second half, Salem needed to find some offensive firepower if they were going to claw their way back into the contest. Despite some solid halftime adjustments, the offensive woes continued for the Tigers early on. Salem did eventually find some gaps in the tight Concord defense with Brandon Francois and Khemanni Davis finding that scoring punch. As the game approached its conclusion, Salem kept the pressure on, but ultimately fell to Concord 72 to 56.

While the scoreboard did not favor the Tigers overall, Salem did benefit from a few bright spots for the Tigers. Ian Hardy and Jack Garrison IV tied for the scoring lead for the Tigers as both chipped in 17 points each. Hardy also led Salem in rebounding with 7. While they were the only two Tigers scoring in double figures, Salem did benefit from 4 steals and 4 assists from Brandon Francois. 

The Tigers were unable to seal the deal for a victory this evening, but they will have another opportunity to get back in the win column this week. They head over to local rival Glenville State to face off with the Pioneers on Saturday, December 2nd at 4 PM.