FAIRMONT, West Virginia - In the final set of Tigers competing today, the Salem men's basketball team opened the season at the Joe Retton Classic today, hosted by Fairmont State. The Tigers overcame a slow start in the first half to pull out a dramatic comeback win over the Fighting Scots 73-70.

In the first half, both sides started slow offensively. The Tigers got their early scoring punch from Jamari Gamble and Justin Fisher. The contest was close throughout the half, but a late Edinboro push put the game at 37-29 in favor of the Fighting Scots going into the intermission. 

After the break, the Tigers kept pace with their foes early on. Xavier Price and Zakhi Fallen added some key buckets to keep Salem in the game. The real turning point in the game came midway through the half when an Edinboro foul put the Tigers into the bonus. Various Tigers made the Scots pay for their foul totals down the stretch, but none more so than Eman Lawal, who finished 13-16 from the line. Fueled by the scoring from the line, the Tiger offensive attack slowly ate away at the Scots' advantage. Salem took the lead with a Xavier Price layup with under a minute to go, and some key free throws in the final seconds from Lawal sealed the 73-70 opening win for the Tigers. 

Statistically, Eman Lawal finished with a double double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Jamari Gamble and Zakhi Fallen also scored in double figures for the Tigers with 13 and 12 points respectively. 

Next Up, the Tigers take on Bloomsburg on Saturday November 15th at 5:30 PM in Game 2 at the Joe Retton Classic at Fairmont State.