Concord Begins Three-Game Road Trip at Wheeling Jesuit, West Liberty

Concord Stats - Wheeling Jesuit Stats - West Liberty Stats - Live Stats (Wheeling Jesuit) - Live Stats (West Liberty) - Live Video (Wheeling Jesuit) - Live Video (West Liberty) - Live Audio (West Liberty Only) - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team looks to get back its winning ways when it travels to Wheeling Jesuit 7:30 p.m. Thursday before squaring off with nationally-ranked West Liberty 3:00 p.m. Saturday in two Mountain East Conference contests.

LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: West Liberty will have live streaming audio of Saturday's contest.
Stats: Live in-game statistics will be provided by the Wheeling Jesuit and West Liberty Sports Information Department for both games.
Video: Both schools will also have live streaming video for the road contests.

RECORDS
Concord is 9-4 this season and has a mark of 5-3 in the conference.

Wheeling Jesuit is 1-13 and seeking its first MEC win at 0-8.

WLU checks in at number nine in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Poll with a record of 11-2 overall and 7-1 in the MEC.

HEARTBREAKER
The Mountain Lions were on the brink of defeating Fairmont State, who was nationally-ranked 22nd in the D2SIDA Poll, in a regular-season game for the first time since the 2014-15 season before FSU hit a buzzer beater to force overtime and then defeated Concord in the extra session 93-83. Senior guard Tommy Bolte dropped in 36 points to run his average in scoring per game to 28.8, ranking second in Division II. Junior guard Jair Rodgers scored 19 points including hitting four three-pointers to keep his first overall national rank in three-pointers made per game at 4.1. Sophomore forward David Bea Mulumba added 10 points in 18 minutes of action for his first double-digit scoring game since December 1 at West Virginia State.

CHARITY STRIPE SUCCESS
In the loss to Fairmont State, the Mountain Lions shot 17-for-20 (85 percent) at the foul line that came after a 19-for-24 showing (79.2 percent) versus Shepherd. In the last eight games, CU has converted 77 percent or better at the free-throw line in seven contests. The 85-percent mark against FSU was the third-highest free-throw shooting percentage of the season. As a team, Concord ranks 10^th nationally in foul shooting (79.2 percent) and Rodgers is seventh in free-throw shooting among Division II players (92.9 percent). Concord has shot above 70 percent from the line in 10 of 13 games in 2018-19.

CLEANING THE GLASS
Against FSU, Concord held a decisive edge in rebounds as they outboarded the Fighting Falcons, 45-31. The Mountain Lions were able to lift their rebounding margin to +6.4 which is tied for second in the MEC. Junior forward Simun Kovac jumped on the glass for 11 rebounds, giving him 52 rebounds over his last five games. It's the most rebounds over a five-game stretch for a CU player since Terry Hopewell had 65 rebounds in the final five games of the 2015-16 season. Kovac ranks third in the MEC in rebounds per game at 9.0. Rodgers added seven rebounds against Fairmont State to tie his career high while junior forward Trey Brisco hauled in six rebounds on Saturday.

BACK AND FORTH
When Concord opposed West Liberty on the road last season, the contest featured 18 lead changes and 10 ties before WLU won 105-92. The 18 lead changes were the most in a game for the Mountain Lions last season. This season, CU has endured back-and-forth games already. In a 106-100 overtime win over Charleston, Concord and UC traded the lead 19 times and were tied 14 more times. On Saturday, the contest with Fairmont State featured 13 lead changes with 12 of those coming after halftime.

GETTING CHANCES
After shooting 39 percent versus Shepherd and 43 percent against Fairmont State—two of the best defensive teams by percentage in the MEC—the Mountain Lions will go up against the only team in the conference allowing teams to shoot 50 percent from the floor—Wheeling Jesuit. Dating back to December 1, WJU has allowed seven of eight opponents to shoot at least 48 percent from the field including giving up a season-high 64.9 percent to Charleston last Thursday. CU ranks fifth in the league in field goal offense (46.2 percent).

LIMITING CHANCES
West Liberty ranks first in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (13.4) and averages 16.7 second-chance points per game. Conversely, Concord is one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the MEC as it rebounds nearly 75 percent (74.8) of opponents misses, good enough for second in the conference. Last season, the Hilltoppers averaged 15.5 offensive rebounds in two games versus Concord and tallied 28 second-chance points across two matchups. This season, CU has only given up more than 10 offensive rebounds in a game twice—against Indiana (Pa.) and Pitt-Johnstown to start the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2- Concord has now played two overtime games in the season for the first time since 2015-16.

3- Missed foul shots by Bolte over the last five games as he gone 31-for-34 at the foul line (91.1 percent).

67- Points needed by Bolte to move into 11^th on the all-time scoring list at CU as he would pass Tracy Poindexter. Bolte currently has 1,605 career points.

WHEELING JESUIT AT A GLANCE
The Cardinals lost their top three players from last year in Preston Boswell, Pat Moseh and Haywood Highsmith, who was the National Player of the Year and is now playing for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Along with the personnel loss, former head coach Danny Sancomb is now at California (Pa.). John Peckenpaugh is in his first season at WJU. Franck Kamgain is Wheeling Jesuit's leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points per game and shooting 45.8 percent from the field. A total of six players average double figures for the Cardinals—a league high. Brendan Hoban, the only returning player for Wheeling Jesuit that saw significant action last season, averages 13.9 points per game.

WEST LIBERTY AT A GLANCE
Along with its top-10 ranking from the NABC Poll, WLU is ranked eighth in the D2SIDA National Poll. The Hilltoppers are one of two teams in Division II scoring more than 100 points per game (105.5). Dalton Bolon leads the charge pouring in 22.5 points per game. Redshirt freshman Will Yoakum is shooting 53 percent from the field and is scoring 14.5 points per game. West Liberty is second in the MEC in field goal percentage (52.6 percent) and leads the conference in three-point shooting (43.3 percent).