BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Junior guard
Aaron Miller and senior guard
Rob Reed combined for 62 points and 12 three-pointers as the Concord University men's basketball team rallied for an early deficit to down Johnson C. Smith 106-97 on Saturday afternoon at the Currence Classice at Ned Shott Gymnasium.
The win pushes CU's record to 6-0 for the first time since 2003-04 while Johnson C. Smith falls to 4-3.
Eight minutes into the game the Golden Bulls held a 19-11 after back-to-back turnovers by the Mountain Lions. Concord steadily chipped away at the JCSU lead, eventually taking a 37-36 advantage on a Miller three-pointer with 3:46 left until halftime.
CU grabbed a 49-48 lead into halftime.
Early in the second half, Johnson C. Smith held its biggest lead of the second half 57-52 with 17:42 remaining in the game. But, Concord answered the short Golden Bulls run with an extended 36-17 run that lasted over eight minutes.
Reed scored the first nine points of the run and 14 of the first 16 points to jumpstart CU's rally. However, Reed wasn't the only one to score during Concord's outburst. Four Mountain Lions scored including Miller and junior guard
Cam Shannon scoring six each and senior forward
Taylor Smith contributing five points.
After the run, Concord led 88-74 with 9:10 remaining in the contest.
Johnson C. Smith would get as close as 95-88 with 3:34 left in the game, but Concord went a perfect 8-for- 8 from the free-throw line in the final three minutes to seal up a 106-97 win.
In the final stages of the game, Miller, Reed, junior guard
Michael Sanchez and senior forward
Jametrius Wade each hit two foul shots.
Reed finished with a team-high 32 points for his second 30-point game of the season. The South Bend, Indiana native was 11-for-22 from the field and 8-for-14 from three-point range, the second time Reed has hit eight triples in a game this season.
Meanwhile, Miller also shot 50 percent from the field (9-for-18) as he finished with 30 points and was one rebound shy of his first career double-double.
Wade notched 13 points while senior forward
Terry Hopewell had seven points and 11 rebounds.
CU's bench contributed a season-high 17 points with Shannon recording a season-high eight points.
The Mountain Lions outrebounded JCSU 43-28, its biggest advantage on the boards this season.
The Golden Bulls were led by Stedmon Lemon who had a game-high 34 points.
Concord seeks to continue its excellent start to the season when it hosts Mountain East Conference rival Glenville State 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
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