Athens, WV- It was a tale of two halves on this late Saturday afternoon as Concord hosted the Tusculum Pioneers in a non-conference match-up. The Pioneers' hot first half 3-point shooting combined with their ablity to get to the free throw line gave them a 10 point halftime lead. But big spurts at the begining and the end of the second half enabled the Mountain Lions to outscore the Pioneers by 23 points on their way to a 75-64 win.
Defense was the key to the first half for both teams as scoring didnt really begin to take off until the 7 minute mark of the first half. At one point both teams we under 30% shooting in the first half, highlighted by Tusculum's low of 9%.
But the Pioneers began shooting lights out from three point range after a slow start. Kyle Moore hit three three pointers on four possesions late in the first half to give Tusculum a 9 point lead. Concord's defense ended the first half with 13 fouls as the Pioneers grabbed 12 extra points from the line.
Tusculum lead by as many as 12 points in the first half, but a late bucket by the Mountain Lions gave the Pioneers a half time lead of 10 as the score was 36-26 at the break.
The Mountain Lions coming out from half time looked like a brand new team. Concord began the half on a 10 point run, as they tied the game with 15:14 on the clock. But a quick Tusculum spurt would push their lead back to as many as 6 in the second half.
These two teams were battling back and forth as the score was tied at 52 at the 3:22 mark. Then the Mountain Lions, on the back of a 20-3 over the next 2 and half minutes lead by Matthew Parker, Cordale Boyd, and Rafee Smith put Concord ahead for good. The Mountain LIons also gained some help from Tusculum's bench as their head coach picked up two technicals and an ejection from the gym.
Concord's second half performance blew the Pioneers back to Tennessee as they outscored them by 23 points. The final score was Concord 75 and Tusculum 64.
Four different Concord players found themselves in double digits at the end of the night lead by Dannie Parker who had 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Cordale Boyd had 15 points and 5 rebounds. Matthew Parker and Rafee Smith both had outstanding preformances coming off the bench. Parker had 14 points (3-4 from behind the arc) and 6 rebounds. Rafee Smith ended the game with 12 points.
Concord (4-2) will be off over the next 21 days as they will enjoy their holiday. Concord will be in the North Carolina Central Tournament in Durham, NC on Dec. 29th and 30th. Concord will play Elizabeth City at 5:00pm on the 29th.
