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Complete Game Notes
ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team finishes up a three-game homestand 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night when it welcomes Charleston to the Carter Center before heading to West Virginia State 4:00 p.m. Saturday.
LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: Jason Reed and
Steve Cox will have live radio play-by-play coverage of Wednesday's game on 94.5 "Willie" FM and streaming online at www.mywillie.com. On Saturday, Concord alum Greg White, who is West Virginia State's radio play-by-play voice will have coverage of the game on 987thebeat.com.
Stats: Both the Concord University and West Virginia State University Sports Information Departments will provide live in-game statistics for the games this week.
Video: Live video of Wednesday's game will be streamed by the Concord University Sports Information Department.
RECORDS
CU sports a record of 3-2 this season and is 1-1 in the Mountain East Conference.
Charleston is 4-2 overall, but is winless in league play at 0-2.
The Yellow Jackets are 2-3 to start the year and are 1-1 versus MEC foes.
GOOD FEELING
Concord went into the Thanksgiving break with a 99-79 win over Urbana as it scored the most points in a game in its last 22 contests. Additionally, the Mountain Lions shot 67.3 percent (35-for-52) from the floor in their win over Urbana, the second-highest mark in an MEC game this season behind only Charleston shooting 76 percent versus Seton Hill. All three Concord players that attempted at least 10 shots in the game sported a field goal percentage of 58 percent or better versus UU. Junior guard
Jair Rodgers shot 58.3 percent (7-for-12), junior forward
Trey Brisco was 60 percent (6-for-10) from the floor while senior forward
Tommy Bolte shot a sizzling 72.7 percent (8-for-11) from the floor. Defensively, CU held Urbana to 41.2 percent (28-for-68) shooting for the game. The Mountain Lions rank second in the MEC in field goal defense at 43.8 percent.
BOARD WAR
In its victory over Urbana, Concord held a decisive 43-25 advantage in rebounds. Junior forward
Simun Kovac led the way for CU as he came up one rebound shy of his first career double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Brisco continued his strong play on the boards with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. Bolte added a season-best eight rebounds versus the Blue Knights. Brisco has at least six rebounds in each of Concord's five games this season which ranks him fifth in the MEC in rebounds per game (8.8). Kovac is third in the MEC in rebounds per game as he has collected an average of 9.0 rebounds per contest. The Mountain Lions' +18 advantage in rebounds versus Urbana was the highest for Concord in a single game since outboarding Glenville State by 19 on January 24 of last season in road win.As a team, Concord is +6.2 in rebounding margin for the season, second best in the MEC.
RARIFIED AIR
By adding five assists to go along with his 26 points and eight rebounds against Urbana, Bolte went over 300 rebounds and 300 assists for his career. The Chillicothe, Ohio native has recorded more than 1,300 points during his time in the Maroon and Gray. Bolte joins
Mike Boyd, Randy Jennings, Julius Lockett and Kelly Mann as the only other Concord players to have at least 1,000 points, 300 rebounds and 300 assists in a career in program history. Additionally, Bolte sits just 47 points away from hitting 1,400 points for his career. Against Urbana, he passed Todd Keffer for 17th on the all-time scoring list at CU. Bolte needs just 38 points to pass Tom Cook for 16th on Concord's all-time scoring list.
OUR STRENGTH/THEIR STRENGTH
Charleston enters the midweek matchup with Concord as one of the most efficient offensive teams in the conference.Known as a defensive team, the Golden Eagles are third in scoring in the conference, posting over 92 points per game. Additionally, UC leads the MEC in field goal percentage, shooting 56.1 this season. However, as previously mentioned the Mountain Lions are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Along with holding opponents to less than 45 percent shooting, CU is tied for third in scoring defense in the MEC, allowing 76.4 points per game. The Mountain Lions have allowed just one team, Indiana (Pa.), to shoot above 45 percent through five games this season. Going back to last season, just two of Concord's last 10 opponents have been able to shoot better than 45 percent from the floor.Â
THE CLOSER
CU earned a 77-72 road win at Charleston last season as it finished the game on a 25-9 run over the last seven minutes. After going down 61-52 at the 7:04 mark last season, Bolte scored 20 of the 25 points for the Mountain Lions as they stormed back for the victory. In the first 33 minutes of the game, Bolte had just 10 points before hitting four three-pointers and adding four more two-point field goals in the closing minutes of the game. In his last three second halves versus Charleston, Bolte is averaging 17.3 points per game, going back to the home finale of the 2016-17 season when he scored 21 points in the second half versus UC.
LET'S RUN
In recent history when Concord has met West Virginia State in MEC play, the scores have been well into the 80s and more often than not into the 90s. Last year, CU swept the Yellow Jackets, winning 96-87 at home and 95-91 on the road. Bolte scored a then- career high 49 points at West Virginia State last season as he shot 14-for-27 from the field and 17-for-18 at the foul line. In eight of the last nine meetings between the Mountain Lions and WVSU, there have been at least 170 combined points scored. A 2015 contest versus WVSU produced 214 combined points in just 40 minutes. To put it in perspective, the average Division I college basketball game is averaging a combined score between 140 and 145 points per game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10- Combined three-pointers made by Charleston in two meetings last season as CU held UC to 31.2 percent from three.
19- Assists by Concord in its last game against Urbana, a season best.
86.5- Average points per game for Concord over the last nine games versus West Virginia State.
CHARLESTON AT A GLANCE
UNC-Asheville transfer Drew Rackley leads the MEC in scoring at 26.2 points per game. Additionally, Rackley is shooting 54 percent from the field this season. Part of Charleston's success in scoring has been its ability to knock down three-pointers. The Golden Eagles are shooting 40.1 percent from beyond the arc, but have only made 51 triples, ninth in the MEC. Charleston is fourth in the conference in turnovers per game, giving up just 11.7 turnovers per contest.
WEST VIRGINIA STATE AT A GLANCE
The Yellow Jackets are led by Pat Johnson-Agwu who is averaging 22.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. Gus Stone is also averaging at least 20 points per game as he is right at 20.0. Stone has knocked down a team-best 23 three-pointers through five games. WVSU is scoring 82.0 points per game, but is allowing 83.4 points per contest.
