WISE, Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team held UVa.-Wise to 27 points in the second half as they erased a small three-point halftime deficit to win 74-59 at the Prior Center Saturday in Mountain East Conference play.
With the win, the Mountain Lions secured a first-round bye in the upcoming Mountain East Conference Tournament. Additionally, Concord locked up its first 20-win season since the 2003-2004 season, head coach
Kent McBride's sophomore season at Concord.
In the first half, neither team could pull away from the other, and upset-minded UVa.-Wise (2-25, 1-21 MEC) ended the Cavaliers ended the first half on a 11-4 run to take a 32-29 lead into the locker room over Concord (20-8, 15-7 MEC).
Over the first five minutes of the second half, each Concord basket was answered by a bucket from the Cavaliers. Down 42-39, the Mountain Lions went on a 23-7 run over the next nine minutes to open up a 62-49 lead with 4:55 remaining in the contest.
CU's run was fueled by junior guard
Rob Reed as he scored 11 of his 14 points over that time frame. Junior forwards
Terry Hopewell and
Jametrius Wade each added four points during the Concord scoring outburst.
UVa.-Wise would only get as close as nine points over the remaining five minutes of the game as the Mountain Lions rolled to the 15-point victory.
Senior guard
Mike Boyd and Reed combined to go 5-for-6 at the foul in the final 1:25 of the game to assure UVa.Wise would not threaten the CU lead.
Boyd finished the contest with a team-high 17 points to along with six rebounds and seven assists. Sophomore guard
Aaron Miller (14 points) and Wade (12) joined Boyd and Reed in double figures.
Senior guard
Paul Byrd only scored five points, but came away with career highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (six). Junior forward
Taylor Smith came off the bench to finish with nine rebounds, two shy of his career best.
Stay tuned for more information regarding the MEC Tournament involving Concord. The Mountain Lions will not play until Friday, March 6 in the quarterfinal round of the conference championship against an opponent that will be determined Tuesday night.
