MBB: RUNNING ON TO CHARLESTON

2/28/2012 11:39:00 PM

MOUNTAIN LIONS ROLL PAST OHIO VALLEY, REACH WVIAC QUARTERFINALS

One of the oldest sayings about basketball is that “it's a game of runs” -- momentum-changing rallies can go a long way in deciding which team wins and which team loses.

Concord men's basketball head coach Kent McBride felt that runs and rallies would be important in his team's matchup against Ohio Valley in the first round of the WVIAC Tournament Tuesday night.

“We're going to make runs, and they're going to make runs,” the first-year head coach said. “How we respond to their runs is going to be important. I just hope we have the first run and the last run.”

The Mountain Lions put on the game's biggest run, a 26-7 outburst late in the 1st half that broke open a close game and propelled CU to a 106-76 victory and an appearance in the WVIAC quarterfinals. C
Concord will meet Wheeling Jesuit on Thursday, March 1 at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.

Tuesday night, Concord opened an early 18-10 lead, but the Fighting Scots fought back to go ahead 30-29 with eight minutes left before halftime.

That's when the Mountain Lions' run began.

Javaughn Manuel started it with a three-point shot, and Corey Neeley followed with another. Soon after, Gentry Shrewsbury sank a layup, Cory Willard hit a three-pointer, Mike Boyd drained a jumper, Manuel and Neeley hit again from beyond the arc … and only the halftime buzzer stopped it. Concord took a 55-37 lead into the break.

CU kept its lead at around 20 points through much of the 2nd half, and removed any doubt with a 9-0 mini-run that stretched its lead to 96-68 with 4:32 remaining.

The Mountain Lions sank 10 of 17 three-point shots in the 1st half and went 42-86 from the field for the night. Concord also shared the ball well, with a remarkable 27 assists, offset by just five turnovers.

Manuel led Concord with 27 points, adding a game-high eight assists, and no turnovers. Neeley, Willard and Romel Kemp chipped in 15 points each, with Kemp grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Point guard Mike Boyd finished with seven points, six assists, no turnovers and two steals. Jordan Davis came off the bench to provide nine points and seven rebounds.

Kendall Allison led Ohio Valley (8-18) with 21 points.

Tuesday was Concord's first WVIAC Tournament home game since 2007, and the win was CU's first in the playoffs since a 105-96 triumph at Davis & Elkins in 2008.

BOXSCORE / PLAY-BY-PLAY
(statistics provided by CU SID GA Becky Brouse)

Up next for Concord (16-11) is Thursday's quarterfinal against Wheeling Jesuit. The two teams split their two regular season meetings – CU prevailed 89-84 in Athens on December 7, and WJU won 92-80 on its home court on January 14.
Thursday's game will be broadcast locally on ESPN Radio 102.3 The Ticket (WMTD Hinton/Princeton/Beckley) as part of the WVIAC Tournament Network.

A link to the network's webcast is included in the “WVIAC 'Tournament Central'” link in the navigation bar near the top of the men's basketball homepage here on www.cumountainlions.com.

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