Concord Sees Season End in NCAA Tournament

WHEELING, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team's season concluded Saturday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as it fell to West Liberty, 90-69, at the McDonough Center.

The teams traded buckets to start the game with Concord (22-10) holding an 11-6 edge after five minutes of play. After West Liberty (28-3) came back to take a 15-13 lead, junior guard Cam Shannon converted a three-pointer while fellow junior guard Aaron Miller converted two foul shots to give the Mountain Lions an 18-15 lead.

After CU gained a three-point advantage, the Hilltoppers went on a 13-0 run to lead 28-18 at the 7:27 mark of the second half. Concord would only be able to trim the deficit to single digits on two more occasions through the remainder of the game as it fell by 21 points.

In their final collegiate games, senior guard Rob Reed finished with a team-high 15 points while senior forward Terry Hopewell notched a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Senior forward Jametrius Wade had 14 points on the afternoon.

Junior guard Michael Sanchez also finished in double figures with 10 points.

Even though the Mountain Lions came up short Saturday, Concord still accomplished several feats and milestones this season. CU captured the school's first conference championship since 1997 while advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 19 year as well.

In the MEC Tournament, Reed was named the tournament's most valuable players while Hopewell was a member of the all-tournament team.  

Along the way, Concord defeated the number-one team in the nation, West Liberty, on two different occasions. Over the last two seasons, The Mountain Lions recorded a mark of 42-19, the best two-win total since 1990-1991 and 1991-1992.

Along with Hopewell, Reed and Wade, Saturday was the final collegiate game for senior forward Taylor Smith.