ELKINS, West Virginia - In the second leg of a midweek doubleheader for both of the Salem Basketball teams, the Salem Men's Basketball team played the nightcap contest against the hosting Davis & Elkins Senators. The matchup ended up being a defensive grudge match, but the Senators were eventually able to pull away from Salem 79-56. 

For the first period, it was a very tight game from the opening tip. Head Coach Vince Thibodeau had some tricks up his sleeve early on with some defensive changes that seemed to slow down a normally potent Senator offense. Salem got the majority of their scoring from the interior in the first half, but Davis & Elkins was able to take control of the game with some hot shooting from the outside. With the late Senator rally, the game sat at 31-19 favoring Davis & Elkins when both teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime. 

After the break, Salem knew they needed to get the offense moving if they were going to stick with the Senators the rest of the way. The Tigers started well with a three pointer from Ian Hardy opening the scoring for Salem in the second half. However, the Senators were able to make some halftime adjustments of their own to maintain control of the game. Salem mounted a valiant effort to come back, but it would be too little too late for the Tigers. Davis & Elkins earned the 79-56 win on their home court. 

On the stats sheet, Salem was led by the aforementioned Ian Hardy, who dropped in 15 points and 7 rebounds. The only other Tiger in double figures was Khemanni Davis, who added 12 points off the bench for Salem. 

Despite the loss, Salem should have some extra energy going into their next contest. They face off with local rivals West Virginia Wesleyan at 4 PM on Saturday, February 3rd. That contest will be played at T. Edward Davis Gymnasium in Salem, West Virginia.