SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio - With the home finale in the books, the final chapter of the Salem Men's Basketball regular season was set to be written in Murphy Gymnasium on the campus of the Notre Dame College Falcons in South Euclid, Ohio. It ended up being a tough matchup for the Tigers despite a strong start, and Salem fell by a final score of 76-63.
In the first half, neither team was truly able to take control of the game initially. Both teams traded blows early, and scoring was at a premium on either side. Salem got their jabs in from their interior play which has been a strong part of the game plan all season. Ashraf Tchaouwa and Brandon Francois got things going for Salem, but the Falcons found some hot outside shooting to take the lead right back. The Falcon lead grew from there to as much as 14 before Salem pushed back towards the end of the half to send both teams into the locker rooms with a 36-25 scoreline favoring the home squad.
In the second half, Salem needed to get their offensive attack going if they were going to claw back into the contest. They went right back to their strong interior play from Tchadouwa and Kapone Barley knocking down key shots. However, the Falcons found their outside shooting in the second half, and quickly quelled every Salem rally with a run of their own. Salem kept the pressure on throughout the contest, but ultimately fell by a final score of 76-63.
Statistically, Salem was led by Kapone Barley, who finished with 22 points in the afternoon. Senior Aundre Bills added 11 points to round out the Tigers scoring in double figures.
While this contest concludes the regular season slate for both of Salem's basketball programs, the Tigers still have a chance for an at-large selection into the USCAA Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments. Those tournaments will be hosted by Virginia State University in the greater Richmond area of Virginia. That event starts on March 10th and runs through March 14th. The field for both tournaments will be announced on March 4th, with the women's field coming out at 11:45 AM and the men's field coming out at 1:15 PM.
