FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The Bloomsburg men's basketball team fell to Salem, 68-55, at the Joe Retton Classic on Saturday night.
 
Courtney Davis II (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) posted a team-high 15 points on 4-of-11 shooting while also going 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Ries Naugle (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) finished with ten points while hauling in four rebounds. Xion Nichols (Woodland, Ca./State College Area) went 3-for-6 from the floor and recorded nine points while Chase Smucker (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) and Kodi Johnson (Folcroft, Pa./Phelps School) each tallied seven.
 
Salem (2-0) opened the scoring a minute in with a jumper from Justin Fisher before Johnson leveled the score for Bloomsburg (0-2) with a jumper of his own. A pair of threes from the Tigers gave a slight cushion in the early minutes of the game. Johnson then registered a three-pointer and a layup to pull the maroon and gold back within one. S
 
Salem slowly started to extend its advantage throughout the first half, leading 32-20 with two minutes to play. The Huskies put the pressure on the Tigers late, scoring seven unanswered points in the final 79 seconds of the frame to cut the lead to 32-27.
 
It took two minutes for either side to find the basket in the second half, with Salem striking first. Davis then drove down the court, responded with a fast break layup just 11 seconds later. As the second half neared the halfway mark of the frame, the Tigers led 51-39.
 
The Huskies managed to bring the game within three points, going on a 9-0 run that spanned just one minute and 45 seconds. Bloomsburg was unable to keep Salem within striking distance for long as the Tigers surged back ahead to take the game 68-55.
 
The Huskies are back in action on Wednesday, November 19 as they host Georgian Court for their home-opener at 7:30 p.m. inside the Nelson Field House.