Concord Looks for Separation in MEC Standings Versus Charleston, Fairmont State

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ATHENS, W.Va. - Sitting in a tie for fifth with three other teams, the Concord University men's basketball team will look to gain ground on the best teams in the Mountain East Conference while separating itself from the middle the of pack when they travel to Charleston 7:30 p.m. Thursday before hosting Fairmont State 4:00 p.m. Saturday.

LIVE COVERAGE
The University of Charleston Sports Information Department will provide live in-game statistics and live streaming video fo Thursday's contest. Meanwhile, the Concord University Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics and live streaming video for Saturday's game. Additionally, Jason "Moose" Reed and Steve Cox will have a full radio broadcast of the matchup with Fairmont State. All live coverage options can be found at the top of page or by clicking here.

RECORDS
• Concord enters the weekend with a record of 7-4 overall and a 3-3 mark in the Mountain East Conference.

• Charleston, meanwhile, is a tie with CU at 3-3 in the league and 8-4 overall.

• FSU is 7-5 overall and 4-2 in the MEC.

THE COACHES
• Kent McBride is in his fourth season at Concord where he has compiled a record of 48-48

• Charleston's Dwaine Osborne has put together a record of 29-13 in the midst of his second season at UC.

• Jerrod Calhoun has guided the Falcons to a 50-24 mark in his three seasons at the school.

MOUNTAIN LION NOTES
• The MEC standings are truly a log jam with West Liberty and Glenville State tied atop the standings at 6-0 while five teams are within two games of third place teams Shepherd and Fairmont State.

• Concord will take on Charleston in one of its two road games during the month of January, 7:30 p.m. Thursday before returning to the Carter Center 4:00 p.m. Saturday against Fairmont State.

• After the roadtrip to West Virginia's capital city, Concord will play seven of its next eight games at home.

• CU is coming off a hard-fought 84-80 win over Wheeling Jesuit Monday in which sophomore guard Aaron Miller connected on a career-high six three-pointers to pace the Concord attack.

• The Stephens City, Virginia native had arguably his best game as a Mountain Lion as he was 8-for-12 from the field overall and shot 6-for-7 from three-point range.

• After his excellent shooting night, Miller now leads the MEC in field goal percentage (.566, 81-for-143) and is second in three-point percentage (.500, 35-for-70).

• Additionally, Miller is tied for second in made three-pointers (35) and is fourth in scoring (19.8).

• Another big reason why Concord defeated Wheeling Jesuit was the physical play of junior forward Terry Hopewell who scored 16 points and snared a career-high 15 rebounds.

• Over his last three games, the Columbus, Ohio native is averaging 19.6 points per game (ppg) and 12 rebounds per game (rpg).

• Hopewell now ranks third in the conference in rpg (7.9) while also ranking third in blocks per game (1.5). Hopewell has four straight multi-block games heading into the contest with Charleston.

• After only one with more than five assists through Concord's eight games, senior guard Mike Boyd now has three straight games with eight or more assists including tying his career high with 11 assists versus Wheeling Jesuit.

• Boyd has taken over the league lead in assists per game (apg) as he is averaging 5.9 apg.

• The senior floor general is also fourth in the MEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.24).

• Furthermore, Boyd has been a big reason CU has been able to close out opponents this season as he has gone 23-for-26 from the foul line in the last five minutes of games this season.

• Boyd's consistent free-throw stroke has him ranked fourth in the MEC in foul shooting (.812, 69-for-85).

• With wins over Charleston and Fairmont State,  McBride would achieve 50 wins for his career at Concord, something only five other coaches have accomplished at Concord.

• McBride is tied with Buck Jamison for sixth on the career wins list (48).

• Concord continues to be one of the most efficient offensive teams in the conference as they rank second in field goal percentage (.505).

• Along with Miller having the best field goal percentage in the conference, junior forward Jametrius Wade has also contributed to Concord's great shooting percentage as he ranks fifth in the MEC (.548, 51-for-93).

• Wade is also a big reason why the Maroon and Gray is second in rebounding (+5.2).

• The Detroit, Michigan native is right in front of Hopewell in rpg (8.2). Wade has had at least six rebounds in all but one game this season.

• Charleston, the defending MEC Tournament Champion, is led by Aleksander Kesic who is averaging 12.5 ppg.

• UC is one of the best defensive teams in the conference, giving up 65.3 ppg, which is second in the MEC.

• Charleston has the second best scoring margin in the league (+8.8).

• Fairmont State comes into the matchup as winners of its last two contests including a decisive 90-72 win over Notre Dame Monday.

• The Falcons possess one of the league's top three-point shooters in Chase Morgan, who is 27-for-58 from behind the arc this season.

• Guard Shammgod Wells has the MEC's second assist-to-turnover ration (3.33).

A CONCORD WIN WOULD...
• A Concord win over both Charleston and Fairmont State would give head coach Kent McBride his 50th win over in his coaching career.

• A Concord win over Charleston OR Fairmont State would match CU's win total from a season ago.


• A Concord win over Charleston would be the first for McBride in his time at Concord.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
18- Sophomore guard B.J. Hamlet has scored 18 points in consecutive after not scoring 10+  previously this year.

80- CU has scored 80 or more points in two straight games in five of its last six contests.

82.6- Concord's team free-throw shooting percentage in the last five minutes of games this season

UP NEXT
Concord will host Shepherd 7:30 p.m. Monday, January 12