ETTRICK, Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team ran its record to 2-0 by downing Elizabeth City State 80-78 at Virginia State Classic.
The Mountain Lions were led by senior guard
Mike Boyd and sophomore guard
Aaron Miller who each scored 20 points. Boyd was 9-for-10 from the foul line as he converted 8-of-9 free throws in the second half.
Miller, who was coming off a career-high 31 points Friday night against Virginia State, stroked four three-point field goals and shot 8-for-9 from the field overall.
The game featured 13 lead changes and eight ties with neither team leading by more than six points. CU took a narrow 35-34 lead into halftime. Concord led through the first five minutes of the second half before ECSU took a 49-47 led. The teams traded the lead before the Vikings took their largest lead, 57-52, with 10:54 left in the game.
CU went on an 8-2 run over the next two minutes. The scoring was fueled by Boyd who had five points and junior guard
Rob Reed who had two points.
After ECSU went up 64-60 with 7:54 left, CU exploded for an extended 14-5 run. Eight of Concord's 14 points were scored at the free throw as junior forward
Terry Hopewell was 3-of-4 while senior guard
Paul Byrd and sophomore guard
Jalen Camper were both 2-for-2 at the charity stripe during the run.
Once Concord went up 74-69, the Mountain Lions didn't let go of the lead to win 80-78.
Under the last five minutes of the game, Concord was 9-for-10 from the free throw line as a team.
Hopewell finished with 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. As a team, Concord was 27-for-32 from the foul line and shot 51 percent from the field.
CU held the Vikings to 44 percent and outrebounded Elizabeth City Stat 35-28.
The Mountain Lions will open Mountain East Conference at Notre Dame Saturday, November 22. Â
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