MEN'S BASKETBALL: PLAYING THE FAVORITES

WVIAC PRE-SEASON COACHES' PICK RUNS PAST MOUNTAIN LIONS

Acree-Manuel Layup (with 1) 138 x 314
The Concord Men's Basketball team knew it would be facing a difficult task in its game against West Liberty Saturday afternoon.

The Hilltoppers return four starters from a squad that went 29-3 last season. They came to Athens ranked #12 in the nation and favorites to win the WVIAC in 2010-2011.
WLU had set school records by scoring 154 and 157 points in their first two games, winning both by an average margin of 87 points.
They were shooting .610 from the field and .585 from three-point range and were averaging 57.5 rebounds and 39.0 assists per game.

The Mountain Lions, meanwhile, went into their home opener at 0-3 and were playing their fourth game in a week.

After tipoff, the Hilltoppers led all but 27 seconds in outgunning CU 149-93 at the Carter Center.

Concord (0-4, 0-3) kept the game close through much of the first half and was within 39-37 with 8:47 left. That's when WLU embarked on a 22-5 rally over the next 6:07 to go ahead 61-42.

CU was within 14 points at halftime, down 69-55. But West Liberty opened the 2nd half with a 27-10 run over a mere 5:12 to go ahead 96-65. The Hilltoppers (3-0, 1-0) would pull away from there.

The Mountain Lions shot a respectable .449 from the field (31-69). But West Liberty shot a scalding .588 (50-85) from the field and an even more impressive .600 (21-35) from three-point range.
WLU also outrebounded Concord 53-35. The Hilltoppers snared 17 steals, had 32 assists, and forced Concord into 24 turnovers.

Half-Court Set vs WLU 448 x 336
Javaughn Acree-Manuel led all scorers with 31 points, including a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. It was his second 30-point game of the week; he had 39 in CU's visit to WVU Tech Monday night.
Jerontae Hunter contributed 15 points and six rebounds. Rafee Smith added 10 points and four rebounds.

Barry Shetzer topped West Liberty's seven double-digit scorers with 27 points. He was 8-13 from the field, 6-10 from the 3-point arc, and pulled down eight rebounds. Alex Falk scored 23 points. Jordan Fortney added 22 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals.


BOXSCORE


Up next for Concord is another appearance in the annual Currence Classic. The Mountain Lions take on WVIAC arch-rival Bluefield State in a non-conference game at 8:00 pm on Friday, November 26 at the Ned Shott Gymnasium.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 102.3 The Ticket, starting with the “Mountain Lion Preview Show” at approximately 7:30 pm.




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