BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – In a first half that featured eight lead changes, the Concord University men's basketball team outscored Bluefield State 16-8 in the first eight minutes of the second half to go on and win 81-70 Tuesday night in a rivalry game at Ned Shott Gymnasium.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first half as CU (2-1) scored the first five points on a three-pointer by senior guard
Trey Brisco and a dunk by senior forward
Simun Kovac. The Mountain Lions held onto the lead until Bluefield State took a 28-27 lead with 5:33 remaining in the first half.
The Blues stretched their lead to as much as four points in the closing minutes, but Concord took a lead of 40-37 into halftime as Brisco and junior guard/forward
Malik Johnson had back-to-back buckets in the final minute of the first half.
To start the second half, Kovac scored six of the first eight points to push Concord out to a 48-41 lead. Bluefield State hung around and got the deficit back down to three points, 48-45, with 16:37 left.
However, CU held BSC without a point for the next four minutes as Kovac kickstarted another spurt with a dunk. Junior forward
David Bea Mulumba capped the run with a three-pointer to give Concord a 56-45 lead with 13:26 to go.
But, Bluefield State did not go away as it worked the CU lead down to 56-52 with 11:21 left. However, freshman guard
Ethan Heller connected on back-to-back three-pointers to stretch the lead back out to double digits.
One more time, the Blues got within four points, 66-62, with 5:17 remaining. The Mountain Lions used the three-pointer to thwart any more BSC comeback attempts as Johnson hit consecutive triples at the 4:07 mark, and Bluefield State would never threaten again.
Johnson led all scorers in the game with 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Kovac just missed a double-double of 16 points and eight rebounds on 8-for-11 shooting. Heller notched 16 points while Brisco tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.
CU shot 52.5 percent (31-for-59) for the game while Bluefield State recorded a 43.5 shooting percentage (27-for-62).
The Mountain Lions travel to the 54
th Annual Pickle Classic hosted by Mount Olive Friday and Saturday. First up for CU is Barton 5:00 p.m. Friday.
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