ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team held off UVa.-Wise's second-half surge as it downed the Cavaliers 90-81 Saturday in Mountain East Conference action at the Carter Center.
The win clinches a bye into the quarterfinal round of the MEC Tournament for CU where it will play at 2:15 p.m. Friday.
The Mountain Lions (16-12, 12-10 MEC) ripped off a 19-6 run in the middle stages of the first half to build a 43-22 lead on UVa.-Wise (13-15, 11-11 MEC) with 5:44 left in the opening half.
Junior guard
Tommy Bolte and freshman guard
Darian Peterson each had seven points during the spurt. The Cavaliers finished the first half strong as they outscored Concord 20-7 over the final five minutes to close within 50-42 at halftime.
The surge continued for UVa.-Wise in the second half as it took a 56-55 lead with 16:04 left. Over the next three minutes, the teams traded buckets before a 64-64 tie with 12:57 remaining.
It would be the final time the game was deadlocked for the afternoon.
CU outscored the Cavaliers 17-7 over the next 4:49. Bolte scored 10 points during the run, and Peterson capped it off with a tomahawk dunk with 8:08 left to give Concord an 81-71 lead. UVa.-Wise was only able to get as close as five points in the final eight minutes of the contest.
Bolte finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
On Senior Day, senior guard
B.J. Hamlet recorded 21 points.
Peterson notched 14 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward
Trey Brisco tallied 13 points.
After UVa.-Wise shot 61.5 percent from three-point range in the first half, Concord limited the Cavaliers to 14.3 percent (2-for-14) in the second half from beyond the arc.
Saturday marked the final home game for Hamlet and senior guard
Cal Cistaro.
The Mountain Lions will meet Fairmont State in the MEC quarterfinals Friday afternoon at the Charleston Civic Center.
