Concord Stats -
Shepherd Stats -
Fairmont State Stats -
Live Stats (Shepherd) -
Live Stats (Fairmont State) -
Live Video -
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Complete Game Notes
ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team begins a four-game homestand 7:30 p.m. Thursday versus Shepherd before hosting Fairmont State 4:00 p.m. Saturday at the Carter Center in two Mountain East Conference games.
LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: Jason Reed and
Steve Cox will have live radio play-by-play coverage of both games on 94.5 "Willie" FM and online at www.mywillie.com. The pregame show will start 15 minutes before tip off of each contest.
Stats: The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live statistics for both games.
Video: CU Sports Information will also have live streaming video of game.
To access the live coverage options, follow the links at the top of the page or click
here.
RECORDS
CU has a .500 mark of 11-11 and is 7-9 against MEC foes.
Shepherd has won its last three games to run its record to 14-8 overall and 10-6 in the league.
Meanwhile, Fairmont State has reeled off three straight wins and 10 of 11 to sport a mark of 17-5 overall and 13-3 in the MEC.
MAINTAINING A LEAD
Despite being held under 20 points for just the second and third times this season during Concord's games at Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty, junior guard
Tommy Bolte is still leading Division II in scoring at 28.8 points per game.
West Alabama's Charles Eaton is averaging 27.5 points per game, trailing Bolte by 1.3.
The Chillicothe, Ohio native continued to trek towards 1,000 career points as he scored 19 points in each contest during the road trip.
Bolte now needs 62 points to amass 1,000 points. Bolte would become the 39th member of the 1,000-point club in program history.
Additionally, Bolte would be the fifth player to achieve the feat since head coach
Todd May has been at Concord--since the 2012-13 season--both as an assistant coach and head coach.
Earlier this season, Bolte scored 38 points at Shepherd and netted 20 points against Fairmont State.
FILLING UP THE BOX
Junior forward
Jafar Musa had his most active game in a Concord uniform at West Liberty.
The Edo, Nigeria native recorded six points, four rebounds, four assists and three blocks in just 22 minutes of action against the Hilltoppers.
The four assists matched Musa's entire career total at CU.
Furthermore, he is the first CU player with at least five points, four rebounds, four assists and multiple blocks in a game since Terry Hopewell had 16 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks versus Wheeling Jesuit January 5, 2015.
Musa joins teammate and freshman forward
Antonio Patterson as the only Concord players with three or more blocks in a game this season.
DEEP RANGE
Entering play Thursday, senior guard
B.J. Hamlet is tied for 16th in Division in made three-pointers with 73 and the Roanoke, Virginia native is helping CU to the fifth-most made three-pointers in the MEC with 203.
It marks the fourth consecutive season that Concord has drilled 200 or more three-pointers for the season.
By making two more three-pointers, Hamlet would become the eighth player in program history over 12 different occurrences to make 75 or more triples in a single season.
OFFENSIVE VERSUS DEFENSE
The Mountain Lions carry the Atlantic Region's fourth-best three-point field goal defense into play Thursday, limiting opponents to 31.9 percent from beyond the arc.
However, Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty both shot over 45 percent from three-point range to snap a seven-game streak in which CU held opponents to 35 percent of less shooting from three-point land.
Concord will be pitted against two of the best three-point shooting teams in the MEC.
Shepherd is second in three-point percentage (39.1) while Fairmont State is fifth (38.1), and FSU makes 11.5 three-pointers per game while Shepherd knocks down 10.1.
Additionally, CU is one of three teams in the conference to hold opponents to less than 45 percent shooting from the field (44.7 percent).
Meanwhile, Fairmont State and Shepherd rank second and third in the MEC in shooting percentage with the Fighting Falcons drilling 48.2 percent of their shots, and SU making 48.1 percent from the field.
NORTHERN NOTICE
In the first two games after the Christmas break in early January, Patterson had two of his best games in the Maroon and Gray versus teams from the northern part of the MEC.
The Raleigh, North Carolina native was the only Mountain Lion, other than Bolte's 38 points, that scored in double figures at Shepherd as Patterson tallied 11 points.
At Joe Retton Arena against FSU, Patterson had his most efficient game at Concord as he shot 6-for-8 from the field including 4-for-4 from three-point range and netted a career-high 16 points.
FEBRUARY FRENZY
In the recent past, Concord has had a history of finishing the season strong.
Since the start of the 2014-15 season, CU is 18-9 in the month of February even with the two setbacks against West Liberty and Wheeling Jesuit.
The Mountain Lions have been especially tough inside the Carter Center in the late stages of the season.
In its last 10 February home games, Concord is 9-1 with the only loss coming against Wheeling Jesuit last season.
SHEPHERD AT A GLANCE
SU is one of the hottest teams in the MEC, having been defeated just twice since December 16.
With a 14-8 overall record, the Rams are just 5-5 on the road this season and haven't won away from the Butcher Center since an overtime win over Urbana on January 13.
Senior forward AJ Carr leads Shepherd with 15.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest.
Thomas Lang is scoring 15.0 points per game and hands out 3.9 assists on average while also leading the MEC in three-point shooting (47.6).
FAIRMONT STATE AT GLANCE
Fairmont State is one of the most balanced teams in the MEC with five players averaging double figures.
Three-year starter Jason Jolly leads the Fighting Falcons with 15.7 points per game and has also knocked down 64 three-pointers.
Fifth-year senior Caleb Davis is averaging 11.7 points adn 6.4 rebounds for FSU.
Despite a 13-0 home record this season, Fairmont State has a losing record (4-5) away from Joe Retton Arena this season.
