Athens, WV Though the boys didn't wear the pink socks like the girls did in the earlier game, the boys did wear pink warm-up shirts to help spread awareness of breast cancer to the crowd. The men didn't feel any less manly while warming up in their shirts, and took SIU head on as they came out on top with a 68-62 victory.
Concord took the early led in the first half. Going up at much as 8 by the 13 minute marker. But SIU came back and pulled within one off a Rafee Smith turnover. Their next time down the floor, SIU took the lead from a missed shot by Concord. The Tigers pulled away by as much as 5, before the Mountain Lions came back to take a one point leading heading into the half.
Concord was 42% from the floor, making 13 of only 31 looks. From behind the arc, Concord only shot 12 times and made only 3 of them for 33%. And the men only saw the line 3 times during the whole first half, and made 2 of those 3 for 67%.
The battle continued in the second half. Though early on it looked like Concord was going to pull away. The men had a 7 point lead by the 11 minute mark, and held the lead for the rest of the night. Concord led by as much as 13 points going under 10 minutes. But missed shots and letting SIU have numerous second chance shots, brought the Tigers back.
Anthony King made two foul shots to bring the Tigers back within one, but Dannie Parker drove into the lane to put the lead back up. The next Tiger possession brought them back within one. CU's offense was not giving up. Cordale Boyd shot for two but missed and rebounded his one shot to put up another one that was good for two points. Anthony Lansdowne made it a two possession game by sinking 2 foul shots. While Cordale Boyd sinked in one more foul shot to seal the game 68-62.
Concord was 47% from the floor, and only 12% from behind the arc. The Lions saw the line a little bit more the second half. Toeing the line 17 times and making 8 of them. Though it was a low 47% for foul shots, the Lions proved that they were clutch in the end.
Concord was led by Dannie Parker with another double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Cordale Boyd put up 17 points and pulled down 7 rebounds, while Matthew Parker chipped in 11 points and had 3 assists.
Concord will play Davis and Elkins on Monday, February 9, 2008, with a tip scheduled for 7:30 pm. Concord has now been on a five game winning streak giving them a 6-9 conference record.
