FROSTBURG, Maryland - Despite the weather affecting other areas of the Salem Athletics schedule, the Salem men's basketball team braved the conditions to hit the road for a contest at Frostburg State. Salem opened the contest well, but were foiled by a second half comeback by the Bobcats resulting in a 73-69 loss. The contest played out as follows:

In the first half, Salem opened up the contest with a focus on the interior play that has been their strong suit for much of the season. Kapone Barley and Ashraf Tchdouwa controlled the paint for Salem, and that set up Khemanni Davis  and Nils Baumiesters for some open outside shooting later in the half. Salem worked their inside outside game well in the first and went into the halftime break with a 43-37 lead. 

In the second half, the contest settled into a tight back and forth ball game. Salem would make a small run, and Frostburg State would respond in kind with a run of their own. Each time, the Bobcats ate away at the Salem lead. The contest ended up knotted up at 59 with about 9 minutes to go in the half. Then, Frostburg took advantage to bring the lead to as much as 6 point from there, and Salem found themselves with their backs against the wall with time ticking down quickly. The Tigers made a valiant effort at a comeback bid by bringing the deficit down to 2 with about a minute to go thanks to a Jack Garrison IV three pointer. However, it would not be enough for the Tigers to eclipse the Bobcats, and Salem fell by a score of 73-69. 

Despite the tough loss, Salem got some solid individual performances. They were led by Ashraf Tchdouwa with 15 points. Just behind, 3 Tigers each dropped in 14 points a piece, namely Kapone Barley, Khemanni Davis, and Jack Garrison IV. Barley also finished just short of the double double with 9 rebounds. 

Salem will be looking to get back on track and celebrate Senior Night in their next contest. They play host to the Wheeling Cardinals at T. Edward Davis Gymnasium in Salem at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, February 28th.