NEAR MISS

Mountain Lions Just Short in Upset Bid at West Virginia State

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West Virginia State was in first place, and Concord 12th, when the two teams met in a WVIAC men's basketball contest Monday night.

Still, Concord was off an impressive 24-point victory over 5th-place Charleston last Thursday night at the Carter Center, while West Virginia State was following up two less-than-dominating victories over a pair of the league's lower-tier teams.
The Yellow Jackets had to pull away late to secure a 90-77 win at 13th-place Bluefield State last Thursday, and, before that, spotted 15th-place Ohio Valley an 18-point halftime lead before rallying for a 109-102 win on January 23.

The Jackets have won two regular-season titles and two WVIAC Tournament championships in the last six seasons under head coach Brian Poore.  But the inconsistency shown by this year's squad has Poore concerned.

"The thing that we've got to do is just try to come out and play 40 minutes," Poore said before Monday's game.  "That's what I'm struggling with, with this bunch, to get them to do -- to play 40 minutes.  They've played in spurts, and in their spurts, they're really good.  As good as any team I've had.  But they're not as consistent as some of our teams in the past."

The Yellow Jackets were inconsistent again on Monday.  But they put together enough spurts to defeat Concord 75-69 at Fleming Hall in Institute, WV.

Concord used a balanced attack to take the early lead.  The Mountain Lions got field goals from seven different players in a 28-8 run that broke 8-8 tie and put CU ahead with 8:05 left until halftime.  

CU took a 41-26 lead at the break.  Along the way, the Mountain Lions shot .500 (18-36) while limiting State to .313 (10-32).  Concord committed only three turnovers and held a 23-19 rebounding advantage.

Then the Yellow Jackets rediscovered their championship-caliber form.

State opened the second half with a 21-6 spurt over 6:22 to tie the game at 47-47.  
The two teams were even again, 62-62 with 4:37 left, when the Yellow Jackets reeled off nine unanswered points to take control.  WVSU star point guard Darren Jones went 6-6 from the free throw line in the final :37 to secure the win.

WVSU's switch to a zone defense limited Concord to only eight field goals in 26 attempts (.308) in the second half.  The Yellow Jackets shot .486 (17-35) over the final 20 minutes, while committing just three turnovers and outrebounding Concord 27-14.

CU freshman Gentry Shrewsbury followed up his career-high 27 points against Charleston with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds on Monday.  Fellow freshman Damien Tunstalle just missed a double-double with 20 points and eight boards.

Injuries forced Concord to play without starting center Rick Alderman (ankle) and senior point guard Rustin Jessee (concussion).  


Jason Emerson came off the bench to lift West Virginia State with 25 points -- almost quadruple his season average.  The senior guard shot 7-15 (.467) from three-point range, after converting .333 of his long-range attempts over WVSU's first 16 games.
Jones, the WVIAC's second-leading scorer, finished with 15 points, adding six rebounds, seven assists and five turnovers.  Will Collins chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds for the Jackets.


BOXSCORE:  www.wvsuyellowjackets.com/content/File/mb17conm.htm


The Mountain Lions visit Pitt-Johnstown Thursday for a WVIAC doubleheader with the women's team.
Both games will be broadcast on Classic Rock 102 The River (WMTD 102.3 FM) and webcast at www.theriver102.com, beginning with "The Mountain Lion Preview" show at 5:00 pm EST.  
The women's game tips off at 5:30 and the men's game is scheduled to begin at 7:30.

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