BUCKHANNON, West Virginia – After coming off a big victory on Wednesday night, the Salem Tigers looked to continue to build on that momentum heading into the holiday tournament. This time the Tigers were back on the road against West Virginia Wesleyan College. Salem was looking to pull off a big road victory, but unfortunately the Wesleyan Bobcats would prevail by a score of 85-78.

In the first half, Wesleyan got off to a fast start and grabbed an 8-0 lead just minutes into the contest. Fortunately, for the Tigers back-to-back triples by Isaac James and Daquan Coleman were able to stop the Bobcats from building on that lead. Kevin Constant then scored 4 points around the 13-minute mark and the Tigers were able to secure their first lead of the game. With 12 minutes remaining in the first, Tigers held a slight 16-15-point lead. Moments later the Bobcats were able to grab the lead back. In the final portion of the second half Wesleyan really got the offense going and were able to hold a 48-34 lead heading into intermission. 

In the second half, Wesleyan was able to hold a steady 14-point lead through the first few minutes of the half. The Tigers needed to cut the lead down if they wanted a chance to get back into this one. At the 10-minute mark, Isaac James was able to hit a big triple to knock the lead down to 5 for the Bobcats. However, over the next 3 minutes of play Wesleyan was able to get back to a 10-point lead. The Tigers would not go away lightly as they kept cutting the deficit down to 5 and were still hanging around. With 2 minutes remaining, Wesleyan had a 79-74 lead over Salem. Unfortunately, Wesleyan was able to knock down their free throws and were able to close out the game. The Bobcats prevailed to a 85-78 victory over the Tigers. 

In the stats sheet, Jalen Barnes led the way for the Tigers with 15 points. Kevin Constant, Jack Garrison IV, and Isaac James all scored 12 points. Daquan Coleman had 11 and Kapone Barley added 10. 

Despite the close loss, the Tigers will have an opportunity to get back on track as they play in the Christmas Classic next weekend in New Philadelphia, OH. Salem will go up against Kent State University at Tuscarawas and Bryant and Stratton College Buffalo.