DARNED CLICHES

EARLY 2ND HALF RALLY PUSHES A-B PAST MOUNTAIN LIONS

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One of college basketball's oldest clichés is that “the first five minutes of the 2nd half are the most important minutes of the game.”

Concord's Men's Basketball team found that out Monday night.

Alderson-Broaddus used an 11-0 run in the early minutes of the 2nd half to take the lead for good in a 93-86 WVIAC victory over the Mountain Lions at the Carter Center.

The Mountain Lions held a 45-40 lead following a Rick Alderman free throw :26 into the 2nd half. But the Battlers got back-to-back three point shots from Roy Brown and Carl Buck to take a one-point lead. A free throw from Buck, followed by back-to-back layups by Garrett Putnam, pushed the A-B lead to 51-45 with 16:39 to play.

The Battlers' lead grew to as large as 12 points – 72-60 – on Buck's three-pointer with 6:57 left. Concord could get no closer than six points after that.

Concord shot .517 (15-29) from the field in the 1st half, including 6-12 from beyond the arc – to lead 44-40 at halftime. But the Mountain Lions cooled off to .378 in the 2nd half.

CU grabbed 12 steals and committed only eight turnovers, but Alderson-Broaddus outrebounded the Mountain Lions 49-30. The Battlers (15-6, 11-6) attempted 38 free throws, making 28, while Concord was 20-30.

Alderman (above right) led the Mountain Lions with a game-high 30 points, including a 12-20 showing at the line. Corey Neeley was 5-7 from the field and 3-4 from the arc in finishing with 17 points. Javaughn Acree-Manuel (left) added 10 points.

Buck topped A-B with 26 points, going 4-6 from three-point range. Nate Barnes chipped in 18 points on 5-17 shooting. Brown posted a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds and handed out a game-high six assists. Putnam was 6-7 from the field in finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds.


BOXSCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY


Concord (8-12, 5-11) tries to end its five-game losing streak in a WVIAC contest against defending league champion West Virginia State at the Carter Center on Thursday, February 10.
Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm, or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the CU-WVSU women's game, which begins at 5:30.
Links to Live Stats and CU's live, streaming video are available on the Men's Basketball page at www.cumountainlions.com.



(photos by Sterling Snyder)

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