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Complete Game NotesATHENS, W.Va. - By defeating Charleston 75-61 Friday night in the MEC quarterfinals, the Concord University men's basketball advanced to the semifinals of a confernece tournament for the first time since 2011-12.
LIVE COVERAGELive Audio
Live Stats
Live VideoJason "Moose" Reed and
Steve Cox will have live play-by-play coverage of tonight's game on 97.3 FM locally or online at mywillie.com. Additionally, Fred Persinger and Brad Howe will have live commentary on WVMetronews with live video. The Mountain East Conference will provide live in-game statistics for the game. To access the live coverage, follow the links at the top of the page or click
here.
MOUNTAIN LION NOTESCU will take on top seed and number-one nationally ranked West Liberty 6:00 p.m. Saturdy at the Charleston Civic Center. CU is 20-9 this season while WLU is 27-2.Â
Senior guard
Rob Reed made all six of his three-point attempts against Charleston, finishing with 24 points.
It was the fifth time this season Reed has made at least five three-pointers AND shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc in a game.
Reed broke a tie for fourth with Todd Lusk for three-pointers made in a season.
Reed now has 108 made triples this season.
With his impressive display from deep, Reed moved his three-point percentage from 40.3 to 41.7 after Friday. In two MEC Tournament games in his career, Reed is averaging 25.0 ppg.
Senior forward
Terry Hopewell scored 20 points with most of those points coming on impressive post moves against a stout UC front line.
For Hopewell, it was his first 20-point game since he had 22 on the road versus Urbana Jan. 12 this season.
The Columbus, Ohio native finished 9-for-12 from the field for the game.
Hopewell set a season-high with made field goals.
It was also just the seventh time in his career he has scored 20 or more points.
Hopewell fell just one rebound short of recording his 12th double-double of the season, but became the 12th player in program history to record 800 or more points and at least 650 rebounds in his career.
On Jan. 18, Concord defeated West Liberty at home, 108-93.
It was the first time in CU history that the Mountain Lions beat a number-one ranked team in any sport.
Additionally, it was the last team in the MEC that head coach
Kent McBride had not beaten in his coaching career.
Reed tied his season-high with 36 points as he shot 6-for-11 from three-point range.
Junior guard
Aaron Miller finished the game with 21 points while senior forward
Jametrius Wade shut down the league's leading scorer, Seger Bonifant.
Wade limited him to 16 points. The Mountain Lions shot a season-high 60.7 percent while scoring a season-best for a half, 66 points in the second half, versus West Liberty.
When CU fell to West Liberty Feb. 11 at WLU, the teams combined to make 35 three-pointers with Concord connecting on 16 three-pointers, tying a season-high.
Junior guard
Michael Sanchez made 6-of-7 three-pointers while Miller (four), Reed (three) and junior guard
Cam Shannon (two) each had multiple three-pointers in the contest as well.
The Hilltoppers were led by Bonifant who had seven three-pointers while Zac Grossenbacher had four made triples.
At CU, the teams combined for 30 three-pointers.
This season when West Liberty and Concord have played one another, the team rarely trade baskets but rather both teams have outburst of scoring runs where one takes a big advantage before the other answers with its own spurt to close the gap. Below is a breakdown of significant runs in both game this season.
Game One| Score Before Run | Score After Run | Duration |
| 13-10 Concord | 33-18 Concord | 5:48 |
| 33-18 Concord | 47-42 West Liberty | 8:33 |
| 54-46 West Liberty | 82-69 Concord | 8:59 |
| 82-69 Concord | 86-82 Concord | 3:37 |
Game Two| Score Before Run | Score After Run | Duration |
| 20-20 Tied | 41-30 West Liberty | 5:20 |
| 71-57 West Liberty | 83-82 West Liberty | 5:36 |
Tonight's game will mark the first time since 2011-2012 that Concord has advanced to the final four of a conference tournament.
In 2011-2012, CU was knocked out of the WVIAC Tournament by Charleston.
Dating back to the 1934-35 season, this is the 19th time that the Mountain Lions have advanced to the semifinal round of a conference tournament.
CU last advanced to a conference championship in 1998.
Meanwhile, West Liberty is no stranger to the semifinals, having made it to the semis of the MEC Tournament all three years and nine consecutive years dating back to the WVIAC days.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS16- Number of points Seger Bonifant was held to CU's win over WLU in January.
29- Number of three-pointers made by CU in two games with WLU this season.
55.8- CU's field goal percentage in two games against WLU this season, best of any opponent Concord has played twice.
SCOUTING WEST LIBERTYThe Hilltoppers advanced to the semifinals as they hung on to beat ninth-seeded Glenville State 73-71.
It was the second-lowest scoring output of the season for West Liberty.
WLU was held to 21.7 percent shooting from three-point range (5-for-23).
After defeating Wheeling Jesuit to end the regular season, West Liberty will enter the game ranked numbe one in the nation.
Bonifant led the Hilltoppers with 32 points in the victory over Glenville State as he went 9-for-12 from the field, 2-for-3 from three-point range and 12-for-14 from the charity stripe.
When West Liberty defeated the Mountain Lions, Bonifant poured in 37 points.
Grossenbacher (17 points) and Devin Hoehn (12 points) also scored in double figures in the win over GSC. Last season, West Liberty was eliminated in the semifinal round of the MEC postseason, losing to the Pioneers.
