ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team used a 14-2 run over a six-minute stretch of the first half to pull away from Charleston in an 86-78 win Saturday afternoon at the Carter Center in the Mountain East Conference opener for both sides.
Over the first 11 minutes of the game that featured 10 ties and four lead changes, neither team could pull away from other. Up 26-23 after two Charleston (4-1, 0-1 MEC) free throws at the 8:46 mark of the first half, junior forward
David Bea Mulumba scored five straight to jumpstart the 14-2 spurt.
Freshman guard
Ethan Heller followed Mulumba's three-pointer with his own triple while senior guard
Trey Brisco, senior forward
Simun Kovac and Mulumba all had two-point field goals to cap the run. With 2:59 left in the first half, Concord (3-3, 1-0 MEC) maintained its biggest lead of the first half, 40-25.
The Mountain Lions held onto a 46-34 edge at the intermission.
UC chipped away at the lead until it was 57-50 with 12:29 left in the contest. On the next Concord possession, junior guard/forward
Malik Johnson completed an old-school three-point play in the lane and senior guard
Martin Kelly Jr. came up with a layup on the following trip down the floor to push the lead back to 12 points. And the advantage would stay in double figures until the final 30 seconds of the contest when the Golden Eagles made a late push.
However, CU made enough plays on the defensive end and sunk 3-of-4 free throws in the closing moments to win by eight.
The Mountain Lions had five players finish in double figures led by Heller's 18 points. Brisco and Kelly Jr. each notched 14 points. Junior forward
Liam Evans and Johnson came off the bench to score 12 points apiece.
Kovac just missed a double-double of nine points and eight rebounds. Besides his points, Brisco's greatest attribute was holding Charleston's leading scorer, Drew Rackley, to eight points on 2-for-13 shooting.
Concord heads to West Virginia State 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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