SALEM, W.Va.– The West Virginia Wesleyan (1-10) men’s basketball team traveled to the T. Edward Davis Gymnasium to take on Salem (7-4) in a non-conference matchup on Monday and lost an 85-75 decision.
 
Leaders for WVWC
Tyler Slone led the Bobcats with 19 points going a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc. Slone was strong on the boards bringing down six rebounds on the night. Jayden Hibbitt tallied 18 points and seven rebounds.
 
Leaders for Salem
Fonz Hale led all scorers with 28 points. Hale added four rebounds and four assists to accent his scoring. Barron Tanner scored 24 points thanks to an impressive 6-9 night from the three-point line.
 
Inside the First Half
Shawn Moran knocked down a three from the right corner to score the game’s first points. Salem would take a 16-11 before Slone hit his first three-pointer with 10:39 remaining. Slone would hit another three with 9:15 remaining to tie the ball game up at 19.
 
Hibbitt and Slone would help the ‘Cats to a 30-26 lead with 5:20 remaining in the opening half. The Tigers would outscore the Bobcats 13-4 to close out the first half.
 
Inside the Second Half
The Tigers would open the second half outscoring the ‘Cats 18-7. The ‘Cats would answer with a run of their own when a Jalen Anderson jumper capped off a 10-4 run with 9:45 left. The jumper would pull WVWC within eight points.
 
Wesleyan would trim the deficit within five points when Hibbitt scored his 16th point of the night on a long two to make the score 69-65. However, the Tigers would not let the Bobcats get any closer ending in a final score of 85-75.
 
Up Next
WVWC has a long break during the holiday season before they meet up with Salem again on New Year’s Day. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. inside Rockefeller Center