NOT WAITING IN VAIN

CU AVENGES NOVEMBER SETBACK WITH WIN OVER WEST VIRGINIA STATE

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Three months can be a long time to wait.

Concord's Men's Basketball team just missed an upset of defending WVIAC champion West Virginia State in their first meeting this season, letting slip a four-point 2nd half lead in a 98-90 loss on November 17.

Thursday night, the Mountain Lions made good on their rematch.

Concord overcame a late deficit with a well-timed rally, then held off WVSU in the final seconds for an electrifying 93-90 victory at the Carter Center.

The victory – which featured ten ties and 15 lead changes -- snapped CU's five-game losing streak and WVSU's eight-game winning streak.

Trailing 79-77 with 7:24 remaining in regulation, Concord got points from six different players in a 13-3 run over the next four minutes to go ahead 90-82.

The Yellow Jackets answered by scoring seven of the game's next eight points to draw within 91-89 with :16 to go.
But, eight seconds later, Javaughn Acree-Manuel drained two free throws (right) to put CU ahead 93-89.

WVSU's Josh “Cookie” Miller drew a foul with :06 left, and made the first of two free throws. He intentionally missed the second, and the Jackets' Will Collins snared the rebound and dribbled to beyond the three-point arc. His off-balance attempt hit off the rim, and as the ball bounced away the buzzer sounded on Concord's second win in 13 games against teams ahead of them in the standings.


Much like the November 17 game, when West Virginia State opened an early 21-10 lead, the Yellow Jackets took a 31-19 advantage less than seven-and-a-half minutes into Thursday's game. But, also like the teams' first meeting, Concord rallied back.

The Mountain Lions closed to within 45-39, then scored seven straight points – capped by a three-pointer from Acree-Manuel -- to take their first lead at 46-45 with 3:29 left. The Yellow Jackets would take a 55-54 lead into halftime.

Concord scored the first four points of the 2nd half, and the lead would change hands ten more times before Cory Willard's three-pointer put CU ahead for good at 80-79 with 6:39 to go, and started the Mountain Lions' game-changing rally.


The two squads combined to shoot .533 (40-75) in the wild first half and posted remarkably similar statistics. For the night, WVSU grabbed 40 rebounds, 14 on offense, while Concord snared 39 and 13. WVSU had 22 assists and 15 turnovers; Concord ended with 21 and 14. Concord was 15-22 at the free throw line, compared to WVSU's 15-20.

One small difference came in three-point shots. Concord was 10-24 (.417), while West Virginia was 9-28 (.321).

Corey Neeley led Concord with 21 points, going 5-9 from the three-point arc. Acree-Manuel added 17 points, shooting an economical 6-11 from the field. Rick Alderman chipped in 12 points. Aaron Fluellen (left) contributed four points, three rebounds and nine assists with no turnovers.

West Virginia State put five players into double figures, led by Collins' 21 points. Miller added a double-double of 20 points and ten assists, with Will Thomas posting a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double of his own.


BOXSCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY


Up next for Concord is a visit to Ohio Valley for a WVIAC contest on Saturday, February 12. Tip-off is set for 4:00 pm for the Fighting Scots' homecoming game in Vienna, WV.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 102.3 The Ticket as part of a doubleheader with the CU-OVU women's game. The Ticket's coverage of that game begins at 1:30 pm.
A link to The Ticket's audio webcast can be found on the Men's Basketball page at www.cumountainlions.com.

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