RICHMOND, Virginia - After a big win in the first round of the USCAA Tournament, the Salem men's basketball team had a familiar foe in the second round with a matchup against The Big Blue of the Bluefield State. Salem split the regular season series against Bluefield State with both teams winning their respective home games. However, this time the teams matched up at Virginia State, and the Tigers were able to pull away with a 96-86 win. 

In the first half, Salem took early control of  the game with an opening three pointer from Stan Smith. That shot set the tone for the rest of the period, and the Salem offensive attack was on full display. Ian Hardy and Rodney Smith followed Stan Smith's lead with some big shots of their own from the outside. That opened up some extra scoring chances on the inside for Ashraf Tchadouwa and Justin Tene. The Tiger lead grew up to as much as 18 points towards the end of half. However, The Big Blue battled back and the score sat at 50-38 going into the intermission. 

After the break, Salem grew the lead up to as much as 20 with key baskets from Riley Heatherington and Justin Tene. The Big Blue battled back yet again, and brought the game back down to single digits. However, Salem relied on Stan Smith and Rodney Smith from the foul line down the stretch, and it paid off with a strong 96-86 win over Bluefield State.

On the score sheet, 6 Tigers finished scoring in double digits. Salem was led by their season scoring leader Stan Smith who finished with an impressive 31 points. Riley Heatherington was next on the list with 16 points. From there, it was Rodney Smith with 14 points, Ian Hardy with 13 points, and Justin Tene chipped in 12 points. Tene also finished just short of a double double with 9 rebounds. 

With this win, Salem advances to the USCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Game against the Bobcats of Bryant & Stratton-Buffalo on March 16th at 2:45 PM.