WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Concord University men's basketball team finished up the MEC-CIAA Challenge with a 2-0 record with an 89-77 win over Winston-Salem State Saturday night at the Gaines Center.

Concord (2-0) trailed by as much as 11 in the early going as Winston-Salem State (1-1) raced out to a 13-2 lead in the first six minutes. CU was able to trim away at the deficit as it took a 31-30 lead on a layup by freshman guard Darian Peterson at the 2:56 mark of the first half.

The teams traded the lead three more times before junior guard Tommy Bolte gave CU a 38-34 lead at halftime. It was part of a 43-point night for Bolte.

Winston-Salem State came out strong in the second half as it gained a 51-47 lead with 16:05 remaining in the game. The Mountain Lions outscored WSSU 22-10 in the next seven minutes to go up 69-61 with 9:07 left. Senior guard B.J. Hamlet keyed the run with 10 points, but Bolte also added seven, sophomore forward Trey Brisco hit a three-pointer and freshman forward Jyles Webster converted two foul shots.

Concord remained in control throughout the remainder of the game. The Rams were able to trim the CU lead to four, 75-71, with 3:12 left, but Bolte scored four consecutive points to run the advantage back out to eight. Winston-Salem State would only get as close as six for the remainder of the game as CU won by 12.

Bolte poured in 43 points on 15-for-23 shooting while also knocking down 12-for-14 foul shots in the contest.

Hamlet hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor and 3-of-4 from behind the arc to finish with 15 points.

The starting front court of Brisco and Webster combined for 16 points and 13 rebounds.

As a team, the Mountain Lions shot 60.4 percent (29-for-48) from the floor, the highest since a home win over West Liberty last season.

CU also took 30 free throws, making 24 of them.

Concord plays Bluefield State in its home opener 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.