Concord Stats -
Barton Stats -
Mount Olive Stats -
Live Stats -
Live Video
ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team heads to the 54
th Annual Pickle Classic hosted by the University of Mount Olive as it plays Barton 5:00 p.m. Friday before facing UMO 7:00 p.m. Saturday in Mount Olive, North Carolina.
LIVE COVERAGE
Stats: Together, the Barton and Mount Olive Sports Information Departments will provide live in-game statistics for the games.
Video: Live streaming video of both games will be available courtesy of Mount Olive.
RECORDS
Concord is off to a 2-1 start this season after defeating Mercer County rival Bluefield State, 81-70, Tuesday night.
Barton has dropped all three of its games this season with two losses coming by five points or less.
The Trojans sport a mark of 2-0 with wins over nationally-ranked Augusta as well as Columbus State.
FINDING THE STROKE
The Mountain Lions shot 52.5 percent (31-for-59) in the win over Bluefield State which was the highest field goal percentage for CU since shooting 60.3 percent in a 110-106 loss to West Liberty last January 19. At Bluefield State, senior forward
Simun Kovac led the way on 8-for-11 shooting and 16 points. Junior guard/forward
Malik Johnson threw in 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting as he matched his career high in points. Senior guard
Trey Brisco was over 50 percent as he went 4-for-7 from the floor for 10 points. Meanwhile, junior forward
David Bea Mulumba made all three of his field goal attempts in the second half as he finished with eight points.
FROM DOWNTOWN
Behind Johnson and Mulumba going a combined 5-for-7 from three-point range at BSC, Concord finished the game 9-for-18 from behind the arc. Going back to last season, it was the fifth time in eight games that CU has made at least 40 percent of its three-pointers. For the season, freshman guard
Ethan Heller has already connected on nine three-pointers including a 2-for-4 performance at Bluefield State. And just a career 31.6 percent shooter from three-point distance, Johnson has started the season 53.7 percent (7-for-13) from beyond the arc.
GETTING ALL THE REBOUNDS
Through three games, Kovac has grabbed 34 rebounds and his 11.3 rebounds per game average leads the MEC. Of guys that have played multiple games this season, the Ljubuski, Bosnia and Herzegovina native also leads the conference in offensive rebounds per game with 4.0. Kovac has made a habit of rebounding as he has at least eight rebounds in nine of his last 10 games dating back to last season.
CAROLINA STATE OF MIND
The Mountain Lions have won four straight games and five of their last six games in the state of North Carolina dating back to the 2013-14 season. However, CU is just a combined 1-2 against Barton and Mount Olive with a win over BC coming during the 1996-97 season. The last time Concord played in North Carolina was two games at Winston-Salem State to begin the 2017-18 season as the Maroon and Gray picked up wins over Fayetteville State, 82-73, and Winston-Salem State, 89-77. The only current Concord players on the roster when CU opened at WSSU are Brisco, sophomore guard
Seth Brown, Johnson and Mulumba.
CHALLENGE AHEAD
Concord has held each of its three opponents below 45 percent including limiting nationally-ranked Indiana (Pa.) to 41.4 percent in a narrow 80-73 loss for the Mountain Lions. However, both opponents this weekend shoot nearly 50 percent on the season. Mount Olive is making 48.3 percent of its shots, and despite its 0-3 mark Barton has canned 47.3 percent of its attempts in 2019-20. Ahead of this weekend, CU is fourth in the MEC in field goal defense (43.0).
BARTON AT A GLANCE
After being defeated 86-73 by Columbus State to start the season, Barton has been in the hunt for a win with narrows losses coming to Augusta, 88-85, and most recently 87-82 to Elizabeth City State. The Bulldogs have a national championship in their program's history as they won the 2006 Division II Title over Winona State. Isaiah Reddish leads BC in both points per game (18.7) and rebounds per contest (7.3). Michael Boykin is also averaging double figures 13.3 per game and a team-best 3.0 assists per game.
MOUNT OLIVE AT A GLANCE
UMO enters the contest 13
th in Division II with 97.5 points per game that includes a 107-102 overtime victory over Columbus State. The scoring is well-balanced for the Trojans as they have five players averaging between 18.5 and 10.0 points per game led by senior guard Cameron Robinson. The leading scoring has stroked in eight three-pointers in two games and is shooting 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from three-point range. Johnny Hughes is adding 9.0 rebounds per game to his 12.5 points per contest.
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