ATHENS, W.Va. – Senior guard
Rob Reed hit a step-back three-pointer with one second remaining to defeat the University of Charleston, 69-66, in Mountain East Conference action Monday night at the Carter Center.
The three-point bucket by the South Bend, Indiana put a cap on Concord's (4-0, 2-0 MEC) come-from-behind victory over the Golden Eagles (2-3, 1-1 MEC).
With 6:49 left in the contest, Charleston's Tino DiTrapano hit a three-pointer to put Concord in the largest hole of the game, 63-52. However, the Mountain Lions fought back as they gave up just one more field goal to UC over the final six minutes of the game and scored 17 of their own.
The rally started with Reed who made two free throws to cut the deficit to 63-54. A three-pointer by junior guard
Michael Sanchez followed as did a layup by senior forward
Jametrius Wade, cutting the Charleston lead to 63-59.
Junior guard
Aaron Miller trimmed the Concord deficit to 63-62 after a three-pointer in transition. UC was able to push its lead to four with 1:30 left. On the offensive end for the Mountain Lions, senior forward
Terry Hopewell tipped back in Wade's miss with 1:07 left in the game.
After the Golden Eagles turned the ball over in the backcourt on the ensuing position, Reed hit a jumper to tie the game with 36 seconds left.
The Mountain Lions locked down Charleston on the defensive end as UC's Jevonte Hughes was forced into a contested jumper as Reed pulled down the errant shot and made his way up the floor with 12 seconds left.
Without taking a timeout, Reed went to work, driving to his left, stopping beyond the arc and drilling a straight away three-pointer to give Concord a 69-66 advantage, its first lead in nearly 16 minutes.
Charleston got one final chance at the basket, but the attempt came up short as CU opened up MEC play 2-0 for the second straight year.
Overall, the game featured 10 lead changes and nine ties.
In the final six minutes, Reed had seven of his game-high 25 points and finished the game 4-for-9 from three-point range.
Hopewell recorded his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Miller and Wade each chipped 12 points for the Mountain Lions.
CU attacked the glass and outrebounded the Golden Eagles 40-34.
The Mountain Lions will step out of conference play for a two-game swing at the Currence Classic 7:30 p.m. versus host Bluefield State Friday before playing Johnson C. Smith 2:00 p.m. Saturday.
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