URBANA, Ohio – The Urbana University men's basketball team opened up the New Year with a disappointing 73-63 loss to Salem University Thursday night inside the Grimes Center.
Urbana dropped to 3-9 overall following the setback in the final non-conference game of the season, while Salem moved above .500 at 7-6 on the year.
Sophomore
Kyle Kegley led the Blue Knights with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and led with nine rebounds. Freshman
Tehree Horn and senior Matt Ashley each chipped in with 10 points to reach double figures in the scoring column.
The action started slow out of the gate as Urbana tried to feel out Salem's zone defense. Salem grabbed the first lead of the contest, but Horn's jumper cut the deficit to one with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.
The rest of the opening stanza featured a big scoring run for each squad.
Salem caught fire first, going 6 of 8 over a five-minute span, to move ahead 24-9 at the 7:15 mark. Fonz Hale led the charge with eight points and Urbana made just 1 of 9 from the field during the 17-3 Salem spurt. Then, Urbana countered with Matt Ashley's trey igniting a 21-5 run to close the half. The Blue Knights went 4 for 4 from three-point range and 8 of 10 overall during the stretch. Kegley's 3-pointer with 34 seconds remaining gave Urbana its first lead of the game going into the break, 30-29.
In the second half, the two squads exchanged four leads as Horn's free throws put Urbana up 37-36 with 16:47. However, Salem eventually built a double-digit lead with four minutes left and gained control as the Blue Knights went cold from the field.
The Tigers moved ahead 50-41 midway through the second period following a 14-4 run, a key stretch where Urbana shot just 1 of 12 over a six-minute span. Ashley's one-handed dunk at the 9:07 mark made it a five-point game, but that was as close as the Blue Knights would get the rest of the way.
Overall, Salem shot 52 percent from the field while Urbana registered a 37 percent shooting mark. The Tigers finished 15 of 25 (60%) in the second half. The rebounding and turnover margins were nearly even. Salem held a slight 35-34 advantage on the glass while Urbana posted one fewer turnover.
Salem's Malique Ross led all scorers with 16 points as five total Tigers reached double figures in the scoring column. Marko Tutunovic registered a double-double with 12 points, 11 boards and five assists.
Urbana still leads the all-time series between the two programs, 10-3.
UP NEXT: UU returns to league play on Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. road matchup at Fairmont State University.
