MEN'S BASKETBALL: GETTING CLOSER

CU PUSHES WEST VIRGINIA STATE TO THE LIMIT

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In their annual pre-season poll, the WVIAC's Men's Basketball head coaches predicted West Virginia State would finish second in the conference in 2010-11, and that Concord would finish 13th.

If that's to be believed, the gap between front and back of the league will be very small indeed.

Concord didn't win its matchup at WVSU Wednesday night, but its 98-90 loss at Fleming Hall showed the Mountain Lions can play with the conference's contenders.

The uber-athletic Yellow Jackets, playing their first game of the season, dashed out to 21-10 lead little more than seven minutes into the game and roused a large home crowd on “Blackout Night.” (WVSU fans were encouraged to wear black.)
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Concord replied with an 18-4 run over the next five minutes to go ahead 28-25. Rafee Smith started it with a three-pointer,
Aaron Fluellen hit another three that gave CU its first lead at 25-23, and over the course of the run the Mountain Lions went 10-10 from the free throw line

West Virginia State moved back in front with 14-2 spurt, capped by a three-pointer from Josh “Cookie” Miler that gave them a 39-30 lead.
Concord countered with a 13-5 rush to close out the half, and the Mountain Lions trailed 44-43 at the break.

The Mountain Lions would twice open a four-point lead early in the 2nd half, the last coming on Corey Neely's tip in that put CU up 60-56 with 14:47 remaining.

WVSU replied with what proved to be the deciding rally, a 25-10 outbreak that gave them an 81-71 lead with 8:07 to go.

Concord would close within three points twice in the closing minutes. Two free throws by Aaron Fluellen got CU within 89-86 with 2:57 left, but Miller sank two free throws and assisted on a layup by Fred Harris to push the Yellow Jackets' lead to 93-86 just :45 later.

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The Mountain Lions got a layup from Smith, and a steal and layup by Corey Neeley, to draw within 93-90 with 1:50 left.

But WVSU forced a turnover on Concord's next possession, and a three-point play by Will Thomas, followed by two free throws from Will Collins, closed out the scoring with :19 on the clock.

Concord enjoyed a 10-point advantage from the free throw line, going 32-37 (.865) to WVSU's 22-29 (.759). But the Yellow Jackets shot .515 (35-68) from the field, compared to .391 (25-64) for CU. West Virginia State outrebounded Concord 45-35 and took a 46-33 edge in points in the paint.

Javaughn Acree-Manuel topped four CU players in double figures with 19 points. Neeley had 17, going 8-9 from the free throw line, and led CU with six rebounds. Rick Alderman overcame 1st-half foul trouble to post 17 points on 7-10 shooting. Smith contributed 15 points, five steals and four rebounds.

Miller paced WVSU's five double-digit scorers with 32 points.


BOXSCORE/STATISTICS/PLAY-BY-PLAY


Up next for Concord is another meeting with another WVIAC contender. The Mountain Lions host pre-season favorite West Liberty on Saturday, November 20 – “Purple Day” at the Carter Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 pm.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 102.3 The Ticket, beginning with the “Mountain Lion Preview Show” at 3:30.













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