Concord Clutch at Free-Throw in Closing Minute to Defeat Fairmont State 94-91

ATHENS, W.Va. – By sinking 8-of-10 free throws in the final 45 seconds of regulation, the Concord University men's basketball sank Fairmont State 94-91 at the Carter Center in Mountain East Conference action Saturday afternoon.

The Mountain Lions (9-5, 4-4 MEC) opened up the game red hot from the field as they shot 63 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes of game. Senior guard Mike Boyd was 4-for-4 shooting with 12 first half points while sophomore guard Aaron Miller was 4-for-6 from the field with 13 points in the first half.

CU held Fairmont State (8-6, 5-3 MEC) to 30 percent shooting and outrebounded them 18-10 in the same time frame taking a 44-25 lead into the locker room.

The Maroon and Gray held its largest lead of the game 48-25 after Boyd and Miller hit a shot each to start the second half. The Falcons were able to trim the lead to 15, 55-40, with 13:40 remaining. However, four points from Boyd and a three-pointer by sophomore guard B.J. Hamlet allowed the Mountain Lions to go back up 20, 62-42.

Over the next seven minutes, Fairmont State inched closer to Concord to trail 76-66 with 5:38 left in the contest. The Falcons cut the deficit to 82-78 with 2:30 in the game. However, the Mountain Lions got consecutive scores from senior guard Paul Byrd and junior forward Jametrius Wade to secure an eight-point lead, 86-78 with 1:01 left.

During that same stretch, CU held Fairmont State without a point and Byrd and junior forward Terry Hopewell snared an offensive board each to keep Concord possessions alive.

Over the final 45 seconds, Boyd was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Fairmont State scored a couple of late buckets but did not factor into the overall outcome as the Mountain Lions held on for a 94-91 win.

In addition to being 4-for-4 at the foul line in the final minute, Boyd was 12-of-12 at the free-throw line for the game, matching his career high in made foul shots.

Boyd scored a team-high 24 points and passed out seven assists, which marked the fourth time in five games, he has had at least seven assists in a game.

Miller notched his 20-plus point of the season by finishing right at 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting.

Hopewell finished one rebound shy of a double-double, notching 11 points and nine rebounds.

Junior guard Rob Reed (15 points) and freshman guard Babe Murphy (eight points) provided a spark of the bench as the duo combined to go 10-of-13 from the field.

For the game, Concord shot 60 percent (32-for-53) which is the second time CU has done it this year (at Bluefield State). Only three other MEC teams have at least one game of shooting 60 percent and the Mountain Lions are the only team to have done it twice this year.

The Mountain Lions had advantages in points in the paint (56-32), fast-break points (6-4) and bench points (26-23)

Concord will host Shepherd 7:30 p.m. Monday night.