INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team was unable to overcome an early 19-point deficit as it fell on the road at West Virginia State, 98-94, Tuesday night in Mountain East Conference play at the Walker Convocation Center.
The Yellow Jackets (4-1, 1-1 MEC) led Concord (3-4, 1-1 MEC) 8-7 four minutes into the game, but erupted for a 27-9 spurt to go up 35-16 with 9:19 remaining in the first half. Still down by the same margin with six minutes left, Concord outscored WVSU 20-6 over to trim the deficit to a manageable six points, 51-45, at halftime.
Five different Mountain Lions scored during the run as senior guard
Trey Brisco and senior forward
Simun Kovac each had five points.
Out of the intermission, West Virginia State stormed out to a 71-54 lead less than five into the second half. Undeterred, CU fought back to get within 81-77 at the 6:16 mark. In the run, senior guard
Martin Kelly Jr. had nine points.
However, WVSU was able to score six of the next seven points to jump back up by nine points, 87-78. On the strength of two late three-pointers by senior guard Brisco and Kelly Jr., Concord closed to within 96-94 with 28 second remaining, but the Yellow Jackets made enough free throws to hold off the furious rally from the Mountain Lions.
Brisco and Kelly Jr. each tallied 25 points as the pair combined to go 18-for-24 from the floor. Kovac added a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds. Junior guard/forward
Malik Johnson added 15 more points off the bench.
Concord shot 53 percent (35-for-66) to West Virginia State's 50 percent (35-for-70), and outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 47-26. But, WVSU had 12 three-pointers to CU's six.
The Mountain Lions will continue their road trip at Urbana 7:30 p.m. December 4.
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