SALEM, West Virginia- After a two-game road trip this past week, the Salem Tigers men's basketball team returned home for a game right before the holiday break gets started. On Tuesday evening, the Tigers looked to get on back track as they faced off against the West Liberty Hilltoppers. However, the Hilltoppers were able to get the offense rolling and defeat the Tigers by a score of 101-87. 

In the first half, the Tigers got off to a 11-9 start with 15 minutes remaining in the first. West Liberty was able to tie things up over the next 5 minutes of play. The Tigers were taking a slight lead with 5 minutes remaining with Tyree Davis hitting some key buckets. However, West Liberty was able to go on 20-8 run to close out the half. West Liberty held a 50-38 lead at intermission.

In the second half, the Hilltoppers got off to a quick start hitting 5 straight points extending their lead to 55-38 with 19 minutes left of play. Over the next 5 minutes of play, West Liberty was able to maintain a commanding lead for the time being. The Tigers were able to claw back into the game with some key baskets from Daquan Coleman and Kapone Barley to cut the deficit down to 11. With 10 minutes left of game time, West Liberty had a 74-62 lead. Daquan Coleman would go on a run of his own scoring 8 points over the next two minutes of play. Unfortunately, the Hilltoppers would keep maintaining a comfortable lead for the last 7 minutes and were able to secure the win by a score of 101-87.

In the stats sheet, the Tigers had 5 scorers in double digits, led by Tyree Davis with 17 points. Kevin Constant and Daquan Coleman both chipped in 15 points. DJ Harrell had 14 and Derrick Jones Jr had 12. 

Despite the loss, the Tigers will have a chance to regroup during the holiday break and prepare for the next match up at Glenville State on December 4^th at 12 PM.