Box Score ATHENS, W. Va. – Sophomore forward
Terry Hopewell scored 18 points and the Concord University men's basketball team erased a six-point second half deficit to force overtime, but UVa.-Wise was able to score 10 of the game's final 12 points to defeat the Mountain Lions, 79-77, Saturday in Mountain East Conference play.
The Mountain Lions conclude their regular season at 8-20 overall and 5-17 in league play. Concord opens MEC Tournament play 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at Shepherd. UVa.-Wise improved to 11-15 overall and 8-14 in the MEC with the win.
Hopewell continued his strong finish to the season with five rebounds, three blocks and two steals in addition to his 18-point showing. Over the last three contests, Hopewell is averaging 16.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
The freshman guard duo of
Aaron Miller and
Ali Barnes came off the bench to provide the Mountain Lions with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Both players were 2-for-5 from three-point range. Barnes also passed out four assists.
Junior guard
Cam Shannon was CU's fourth player in double figures with 12 points to go with five rebounds and three steals.
The entire contest was a close affair as neither team was able to build more than a two-possession lead with the lone exception of Concord's brief seven-point advantage late in the first half. UVa.-Wise closed the opening half leading by one point at 33-32, the Cavaliers proceeded to open the second period on a 17-12 run to take a 50-44 lead over CU with 12:45 to play in regulation.
Concord quickly erased the deficit off of back-to-back three-pointers from freshman forward
Grant Dickinson and Shannon. The two teams went on to trade the lead five times over the following 11 minutes with UVa.-Wise ultimately coming away with a two-point edge (69-67) with 1:12 to play.
After both teams were unable to score on their ensuing possessions, CU found itself with the ball and one final chance to tie the game with nine seconds showing on the clock. Out of a Concord timeout, junior guard
Mike Boyd made one of his patented drives to the basket, drew a foul and calmly drained a pair of free throws to send the game into overtime 69-69.
The Mountain Lions seemed poised to run away with the game when Hopewell scored the first six points of OT to give CU a 75-69 lead with 2:29 to play. However, UVa.-Wise managed to salvage the game and escape with a victory by ending the contest with solid play down the stretch to take the contest 79-77.
As a team, Concord shot 10-for-20 from three-point range while committing just 11 turnovers compared to UVa.-Wise's 17 miscues. CU also held advantages over the Cavaliers in steals (7-3) and bench points (36-17).
Other top contributors for Concord included Boyd and Dickinson. Boyd just missed a double-double with eight points and seven assists while Dickinson showed a nice long-range touch with a pair of three-pointers on his way to a six-point night.
UVa.-Wise was led by the MEC's top rebounder Deon Boyce, who tallied a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds.
