ATHENS, W.Va. – A late defensive stop propelled the Concord University men's basketball team to an 83-82 victory over UVa.-Wise Saturday afternoon in Mountain East Conference action inside the Carter Center.
Up by one, 80-79, with 1:09 left in the second half, sophomore forward
David Bea Mulumba collected an offensive rebound and dished to junior guard
Jair Rodgers who knocked in his fifth three-pointer of the game. On the other end, UVa.-Wise answered with a three-pointer of its own.
After CU ran the clock down and missed its attempt to stretch the lead, the Mountain Lions needed to make a defensive play with 14 seconds left. The Cavaliers threw the ball on the block where UVa.-Wise's Eric Okenchi's layup was errant. Senior forward
Jafar Musa tipped the ball out to sophomore guard/forward
Malik Johnson who was able to dribble out the remaining three seconds on the clock.
Concord led throughout the entire first half—including  a game-best 11-point advantage after two Trey  Brisco free throws put it up 36-25—and  was still leading until the Cavalier knotted the game at 50-50 with 13:41 left. The remainder of the contest featured seven ties and two lead changes, but the Mountain Lions never let UVa.-Wise get more than four points away from them. Down 75-74 with 3:14 left in the contest, senior guard
Tommy Bolte scored six straight points to give CU the 80-79 edge before Rodgers' three-pointer.
Bolte led all scorers in the game as he scored 22 of his 33 points after halftime. Over the last two games, Bolte has tallied 98 points and has shot 54.4 percent (37-for-68) from the field. Rodgers added 20 points as he went 5-for-12 from three-point range. Brisco supplied 12 points.
Though scoring just five points, Mulumba secured a team-best nine rebounds.
The Mountain Lions held a decisive advantage on the glass as they outrebounded the Cavaliers, 44-28, including 17 offensive boards, season high
Concord welcomes Mercer County rival Bluefield State to the Carter Center 7:30 p.m. Monday. Â
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