Concord Stats -
West Virginia Wesleyan Stats -
Live Audio -
Live Stats -
Live Video -
Complete Game Notes
ATHENS, W.Va.- The Concord University men's basketball team plays its final game of 2018 when it hosts West Virginia Wesleyan 4:00 p.m. Saturday at the Carter Center.
LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: Jason Reed and
Steve Cox will have live radio play-by-play of Saturday's contest on 94.5 "Willie" FM and streaming online at www.mywillie.com.
Stats: The Concord University Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics available for the contest.
Video: Live streaming video will also be provided by the Concord University Sports Information Department.
RECORDS
Riding a six-game win streak, the Mountain Lions are 8-2 on the season and 4-1 versus Mountain East Conference teams.
Meanwhile, WVWC comes into play with a 4-5 overall mark and is 2-3 in the MEC.
THREE-POINT EXPLOSION
During its six-game winning streak, Concord has had great success from the three-point line as it has hit 11 or more three-pointers in five of the six games, including a season-best 16 in its 93-76 win over Salem to close the Joe Manchin Classic. The 16 three-pointers represented the most makes from beyond the arc since the season opener of the 2016-17 season when CU buried 18 three-pointers versus Fayetteville State. Senior guard
Tommy Bolte has led the way for the Mountain Lions in recent games from three-point range as he has converted a total of 15 three-pointers over the last three games while shooting 60 percent (15-for-25) from distance. In the first seven games of the season, Bolte was shooting just 30.5 percent (11-for-36) from three-point range. Junior guard
Jair Rodgers continued his impressive stroke behind the arc as well. Rodgers has made at least four three-pointers in five consecutive games and ranks second in the MEC--behind UVa.-Wise's Parris Briggs-- and third nationally in three-pointers made per game at 4.4. As a team, Concord has made 78 three-pointers the last six games, and is shooting 48.1 percent from deep over that stretch. With its recent three-point barrage, CU ranks third in the MEC in made three-pointers per game at 11.6.
MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENT
In Concord's game against Salem, Bolte went over 1,500 career points, and now stands at 1,515 for his career. The Chillicothe, Ohio native became the 12th player in program history to achieve the feat and also the second in the last three years after
Aaron Miller went over 1,500 points during the 2016-17 season.
ROLE PLAYERS
While Bolte and Rodgers have been getting much of the headlines this season, Concord's success has been built on its role players of Brisco, sophomore guard/forward
Malik Johnson, junior forward
Simun Kovac, sophomore
David Bea Mulumba and senior forward
Jafar Musa. Johnson sported a field goal percentage of 63.6 (7-for-11) at the Joe Manchin Classic as he averaged 8.5 points per game. Kovac nearly finished with two double-double as he went for 12 points and nine rebounds versus California (Pa.) and had six points and 12 rebounds against Salem. This season, Kovac ranks fifth in the MEC in rebounding at 8.6 boards per game. Mulumba helped the three-point effort over the weekend with three makes from beyond the arc. Over the last six games, Mulumba has hit 12 three-pointers and is averaging 8.8 points per game, nearly two points higher than his season average.
HERE TO ASSIST YOU
In its two wins at the Joe Manchin Classic, Concord assisted on 37 of 59 made field goals over the two contests, including a season-best 21 assists versus California (Pa.). It was the first time the Mountain Lions had 20 or more assists in a game since a win over Glenville State last December when they dished out 20 assists. Junior forward
Trey Brisco handed out a career-best eight assists in CU's win over Cal (Pa.) while Bolte added seven assists. The next night against Salem Bolte led the Maroon and Gray in assists as he recorded a career-best 12 assists, and going for his second double-double of the season adding 35 points.
LOOKIN' FOR SOME HOME COOKIN'
CU has won three of its last four games against West Virginia Wesleyan away from the Carter Center, but has only defeated the Bobcats once in its last three tries at home, an 81-70 win during the 2016-17 season. In last season's 80-69 road triumph, the Mountain Lions got 35 points and seven assists from Bolte, but more importantly Concord held WVWC to 40.4 percent shooting (23-for-57) in the win. At home during the 2017-18 season, Wesleyan won 61-52 as it held CU to 33.3 percent shooting (20-for-60). The Maroon and Gray had just 14 points in the first half of that particular game. West Virginia Wesleyan holds a 34-29 edge in the all-time series between the two squads, but neither team has swept the season series since Concord did so during the 2014-15 season with a 54-41 win in Buckhannon, West Virginia and a 66-61 win at home.
BOARD WAR
Heading into Saturday's game, the Mountain Lions are one of the best rebounding teams in the MEC as they rank third in rebounding margin at +5.7. Concord has only been outrebounded twice this season--against Indiana (Pa.) and at home against Charleston. On the flip side, West Virginia Wesleyan has the worst rebounding margin in the conference at -11.6 and the Bobcats have not won the rebounding battle in any of their nine games this season. Last year, WVWC held a 36-34 rebound edge in Concord's win, but CU owned a 43-31 advantage when Wesleyan won at Concord. While Kovac is fifth in rebounding in the MEC and Brisco ranks 11th (7.3 rebounds per game), Wesleyan's leading rebounder is its point guard, Luka Petrovic, who is grabbing 4.1 rebounds per game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
6- Â Winning streak for CU is its longest since a seven-game win streak to start the 2015-16 season.
7- Â Concord is ranked seventh in the D2SIDA Atlantic Regional Media Poll this week.
50- Concord has shot 50 percent or better in five of the six games during its winning streak.
WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE
After starting the season with wins over West Chester and Kutztown, WVWC is just 2-5 in its last seven games. On Wednesday, the Bobcats dropped a narrow 76-75 overtime decision to Salem on the road. Wesleyan has MEC wins over Wheeling Jesuit and UVa.-Wise. Despite averaging just 69 points per game, Wesleyan is balanced with four players averaging in double figures led by Dusan Vicentic who is pouring in 15.9 points per game. Clay Todd has knocked in 14.2 points per game, Fred Brondsted averages 13.3 points per game and Petrovic is scoring 10.2 points per game. Like Concord, the Bobcats have had success from three-point range this season, hitting 11.6 three-pointers per game.
