Concord Staves off West Virginia State, 92-82

ATHENS, W.VA- The Concord University men's basketball team held off West Virginia State in the second half to claim its first Mountain East Conference win of the season.

Concord improves to 3-1 (1-0 MEC) on the season, while WVSU falls to 1-3 (0-1 MEC).

A fast start by the Yellow Jackets allowed WVSU to initially take an 18-17 lead with 11:01 left in the first half.  However, a strong defensive effort by CU over the next six minutes held WVSU scoreless over that time span.  During this time, Concord went on a 14-0 run to take a 31-18 lead with five minutes left in the first half.

The run was highlighted by four different scorers for Concord, with three-pointers from freshman guard Pierce Mowery and junior forward Babe Murphy, as well as layups from senior guard Aaron Miller and senior forward Stephen Thompson.

The Mountain Lions extended their lead to over 20 to end the half after Mowery intercepted a pass on West Virginia State's final possession to draw contact and convert two free throws to give CU a 47-26 halftime lead. 

Concord's defense held WVSU to just 27.6% shooting in the first half.    

CU's lead ballooned to 31 in the second half after Mowery once again stole a pass and converted the ensuing layup to make the score 68-37 with 11:33 left in the game. 

Concord's largest lead of the game came courtesy of a Miller layup at the 9:02 mark in the second half to make the score 76-44 in favor of CU. 

After Miller's layup, the Yellow Jackets used hot shooting to get back in the game, going on a 26-4 run over the next seven minutes to make the score 80-70 with 2:36 remaining.  WVSU went 8-for-11 over the run. 

Two free throws by Thompson at the 2:24 mark helped to stop the momentum for West Virginia State.  Overall, the Mountain Lions went 12-for-14 over the final 2:24 to help hold off the Yellow Jackets, including four free throws each from sophomore guard Tommy Bolte and senior
guard Michael Sanchez to help secure a 92-82 victory. 

Concord had five players muster double figures against WVSU, with Murphy leading the way with 17 points, a career-high, and seven rebounds.  Murphy also posted a double-double against West Virginia State last season at the Carter Center. 

Also notching double figures for CU were Miller (16), Mowery (14), Sanchez (12), and Bolte (11).  Junior forward Troy Gibson added eight points from the bench in just 12 minutes of action.      

Bench scoring was critical for Concord. CU outscored West Virginia State by a substantial 39-17 margin.

Concord ventures to Charleston on Monday night for a 7:30 P.M. Contest.  ­­