SALEM, West Virginia - Fresh off their dramatic win over Lake Erie in the road season finale, Salem men's basketball was set for a tough matchup with the Big Blue of Bluefield State in their home season finale. Additionally, the team honored their 7 graduating players with Senior Day festivities ahead of the contest. The Tigers really rose to the occasion during the game as well, and rode out to a dominant 94-67 win.

In the first half, it quickly became clear that the Tigers had one big advantage over the somewhat shorthanded Bluefield State squad. The pairing of Riley Heatherington and Justin Tene had a somewhat significant size advantage down low. With Rodney Smith orchestrating the offense from the point guard position, he was able to consistently find both Tene and Heatherington down low for regular points in the paint. Additionally, that opened up scoring chances on the outside for Stan Smith and Ian Hardy. With the Salem offense firing on all cylinders, the Tigers controlled the game 50-36 going into the half. 

For the second half, it was clear that Salem came into this game on a mission to earn a big win for their graduating seniors, and avenge their previous loss to the Big Blue down in Bluefield earlier this year. There was nothing that Bluefield could do to slow the Tigers down, and the advantage grew to as much as 27 midway through the half. Bluefield State rallied somewhat towards the end of the period, but Salem was able to pull away with an impressive 94-67 win. 

From the scorebook, Salem was led by Justin Tene who notched a double double with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Rodney Smith was just behind him with 17 points. Riley Heatherington chipped in 15 points. Lastly, Ian Hardy and Stan Smith each added 14 points for the Tigers. 

With this big win to round out the season, Salem will be primed for their expected run in the USCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, which is set for March 12th through the 16th in Richmond, Virginia. The field for that event will be announced on March 5th at 4 PM.