Concord's Late Surge Comes Up Short Against Third-Ranked West Liberty

ATHENS, W.Va. – Despite scoring 61 points in the second half, the Concord University men's basketball team's upset bid of third-ranked West Liberty came up short Saturday afternoon in Mountain East Conference action at the Carter Center as the Hilltoppers scored a 119-110 win.

WLU (15-0, 10-0 MEC) scored 63 points in the first half and held junior guard Tommy Bolte to two points to grab a 14-point halftime advantage.

After trailing by as much as 22 points, 75-53, with 15:17 left in the game, the Mountain Lions (8-7, 5-5 MEC) began to mount a comeback. CU used a 22-9 run over the next five minutes to close the gap to single digits, 84-75, for the first time since the 4:12 mark of the first half.

Freshman forward Jyles Webster paced the run with nine points while senior guard B.J. Hamlet added eight of his career-high 38 points during the spurt. However, West Liberty was able to work its lead back to 16 points, 106-90, with 4:23 left after two free throws.

But, Concord had one more charge left in it in the closing moments of the contest.

Four CU players combined to score the next 12 points and Bolte added a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 110-105 with 1:11 remaining in the game. Following a 1-for-2 effort at the foul line by WLU, the Mountain Lions missed a three-pointer from the deep right corner that would have cut the deficit to three points with 56 seconds left.

The Hilltoppers made eight straight foul shots to fend off Concord's upset bid.

Hamlet shot 14-for-21 from the field and drilled a career-best eight three-pointers in his career performance. After a quiet first half, Bolte finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, his second career double-double.

Webster added a double-double off the bench with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. It was Webster's first career double-double.

Sophomore forward Trey Brisco poured in 12 points.

In his second straight start, junior forward Jafar Musa came up with six points and seven rebounds.

Concord finished with a 52-39 advantage in rebounding—its widest margin on the glass since December 2016 against Bluefield State.

The Mountain Lions continue the stretch of home games with a visit from Charleston 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night at the Carter Center.