MBB: FINALLY OFF THE ROAD

MOUNTAIN LIONS DOWN WJU IN RETURN TO CARTER CENTER

Since its last home game, the Concord men's basketball team played four straight on the road, traveling about 1900 miles and spending around 30 hours on the bus.

So it felt good to be back home again.

Playing their first game before a friendly crowd in three weeks, the Mountain Lions upended WVIAC foe Wheeling Jesuit, 89-84, Wednesday night at the Carter Center.  CU hadn't stepped on to its home floor since a 72-66 win over West Virginia State on November 17.

Cory Willard 3 vs WJU
The visitors moved ahead 18-10 early, and after CU pulled within 22-20, the Cardinals scored seven straight points to lead 29-20.  But the Mountain Lions outscored WJU 20-9 in the final six minutes of the 1st half and took a 40-38 lead into the break.

Concord would lead by as many as 15 points, at 64-49, with 12:28 remaining in the game.  But the Cardinals, who went into Wednesday's game 2nd in the WVIAC in scoring and shooting percentage, closed within 87-84 with 1:26 left.
However, the Mountain Lions recorded defensive stops on each of WJU's last four possessions, and Damien Tunstalle's two free throws with just five seconds left closed the scoring and sealed the victory.

The Cardinals wound up shooting .527 (29-55) for the game, and were 21-25 from the free throw line.  The Mountain Lions also shot well from the field (.484, 30-62) and the line (19-25), and owned one significant statistical advantage.  Concord shot 10-25 (.400) from three-point range, while WJU was 5-15 (.333).

Five Mountain Lions scored in double figures, led by 17 point from Romel Kemp.  Cory Willard hit 5-6 three-pointers for 15 points, and Corey Neeley sank 3-5 from the arc to finish with 13 points.  Javaughn Manuel added 12 points and a team-high six rebounds, while Mike Boyd contributed 10 points and a team-best five assists.

Steve Catich led Wheeling Jesuit (5-3, 2-2) with 33 points and six rebounds.


Up next for Concord (4-3, 3-2) is a matchup against WVIAC foe Pitt-Johnstown at the Carter Center on Saturday, December 10.  The game is part of a doubleheader with CU's women's team, and tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm.

ESPN Radio 102.3 The Ticket (WMTD, Hinton/Princeton/Beckley) will broadcast the contest.  Concord will provide Live Stats and streaming video.
Links to the video, Live Stats and the radio webcast can be found in the top navigation bar on the men's basketball homepage on the new-look cumountainlions.com.

Saturday is also “Lewis D'Antoni Day” at Concord.  The Mountain Lions legend will be honored during a ceremony at halftime of the men's game, and a reception will be held after the game in Gym 2 of the Carter Center.


(statistics provided by CU SID GA Becky Brouse)


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