Box Score
SALEM, W. Va. -- The Ohio Dominican men's basketball team could not overcome a cold shooting start Thursday evening, falling on the road at Salem, 80-70.
Despite a season-high 11 made three-pointers, ODU was held to under 40 percent shooting for the game, including a .344 clip in the first half. Salem matched the Panthers' 11 makes from deep and finished the game with an overall shooting percentage of .483.
Alek West (Sylvania, Ohio) led the way for the Black & Gold, recording 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. Thursday marked the third time in four games this season that West has produced at least a 15-5-5 stat line.
Three additional Panthers were in double figures, including Max Stepaniak (Ross, Ohio), who drew his first collegiate start, logging 16 points and nine rebounds. Zach Szul (Waterville, Ohio) and Sean Marks (Delaware, Ohio) combined for five triples, scoring 13 and 10 points respectively.
The Panthers led early due to strong post play from Stepaniak, but an 11-0 scoring run by the Tigers gave them a 27-19 advantage with four minutes to play in the first half.
ODU trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, but triples from West and Marks in the closing minutes closed the Panther deficit to 34-29 at the intermission.
Each Panther run in the second half was answered by the Tigers, as Salem never trailed in the final 20-minute session. A three-pointer from West made it 73-67 in favor of Salem with 1:49 to play, but the Tigers went on to close the game by scoring seven of the final 10 points.
Ohio Dominican closes out a five-game stretch away from home to start the new season on Tuesday, Nov. 23. The Panthers will travel to Kentucky State for a noon tip-off.
jestert@ohiodominican.edu
