Concord Stats -
Notre Dame Stats -
Urbana Stats -
Live Stats (Notre Dame) -
Live Stats (Urbana) -
Live Video (Notre Dame) -
Live Video (Urbana) -
Complete Game Notes
ATHENS, W.Va. - After an upset road win at Fairmont State which was paced by 31 points from junior guard
Jair Rodgers, the Concord University men's basketball team plays its third straight road game when it travels to Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. Thursday before heading to Urbana 4:00 p.m. Saturday in two Mountain East Conference contests.
LIVE COVERAGE
Stats: Both the Notre Dame College and Urbana University Sports Information Department will provide live in-game statistics for road games.
Video: Live video will be available for the road contests involving Concord.
RECORDS
The Mountain Lions elevated their record to 16-8 overall and 11-7 in the MEC with the road victory. Notre Dame has run off five straight victories and is now 18-6 and 14-4 against MEC foes. UU is 5-17 this season and sports a conference mark of 3-15.
TURNING UP THE HEAT
After allowing Fairmont State to shoot 45.9 percent (17-for-37) in the first half of Saturday's game, Concord limited the Fighting Falcons to 33.3 percent (13-for-39) from the field in the second 20 minutes to secure a 91-80 win. It marked the first time CU stifled an opponent to below 40 percent shooting in a half since a January 17 road victory at Wheeling Jesuit. Additionally, it was the first time holding an opponent to below 40 percent in the second half of a game since December 15 when the Mountain Lions defeated West Virginia Wesleyan. Not only did Concord make it tough for FSU to make shots, but it also had six of its nine steals in the second half. Over the last four games, the Maroon and Gray is averaging 8.2 steals per game including nine or more in three games. Junior forward
Trey Brisco and sophomore guard/forward
Malik Johnson each have nine steals over the last four games. Senior guard
Tommy Bolte has added seven steals in the last four contests.
THE MARCH CONTINUES
Bolte starts the road trip this week needing 66 points to reach 2,000 career points. Over the last three games against Notre Dame and UU, the Chillicothe, Ohio native is averaging 27.6 points per game against the two teams from his home state. Earlier this season, Bolte scored 20 points in an 80-69 loss to NDC, but had 26 points in a 99-79 win over the Blue Knights. The senior guard scored 37 and 34 points in back-to-back games against the two teams in late February last season.
UTILITY MAN
Against Fairmont State, Brisco had his hand in a little bit of everything for the Mountain Lions. The Stephens City, Virginia native had nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Even though Brisco just missed out on a potential triple-double, it was only the second time this season a CU player had at least seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists in a game—Bolte against California (Pa.) when he had 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Brisco was just one assist shy of matching his career high which came earlier this season at Salem.
CLEANING THE GLASS
The Mountain Lions had their first 50-rebound game in over a year when they collected 50 rebounds at Fairmont State and held a +9 advantage on the boards. Junior forward
Simun Kovac ripped down 12 rebounds which was his 11
th double-digit rebounding game of the season while just missing on a double-double with eight points. Kovac has five double-digit rebounding contests in his last eight games played. Brisco added 10 rebounds at FSU. And while he didn't score in the game, senior forward
Jafar Musa amassed seven rebounds. CU and Notre Dame are two of the top rebounding teams in the MEC. Concord has a rebounding margin of +3.8 which ranks fourth in the MEC. Meanwhile, the Falcons are third at +5.2. Individually, NDC's Will Vorhees is tied for first in the conference at 11.3 rebounds per game. Concord's Kovac is fourth at 9.0 boards per contest.
HOMECOMING
Head coach
Todd May returns to the state in which he was raised in, Ohio. In his two previous seasons at Concord, May is a combined 3-1 against Notre Dame and Urbana in the Buckeye State. This week will also be a homecoming for assistant coach
Adam Blake as well as Bolte and freshman guard
Brandon Kennedy. Bolte and Kennedy will be 85 miles from where they grew up in Chillicothe when CU takes the floor against Urbana on Saturday. Meanwhile, May and Blake will be 60 and 80 miles away from their hometowns of Circleville and Kingston when Concord visits Urbana.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
6- Three-pointers made by Rodgers versus Notre Dame earlier this season.
8- Consecutive games by Rodgers with at least two made three-pointers.
67.3- Shooting percentage for Concord in its win over Urbana in November.
NOTRE DAME AT A GLANCE
Vorhees has won back-to-back USBWA National Player of the Week Awards. The veteran big man is fourth in Division II in scoring per game (27.4) while ranking eighth in Division II in rebounds per game. Earlier this season, Vorhees went for 28 points and 10 rebounds versus CU. Larenz Thurman, who has been a stellar complement to Vorhees, is averaging 18.6 points per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field. The Falcons lead the MEC in field goal defense, giving up 43.3 percent on the season. During its five-game win streak, three of the victories for Notre Dame have come by eight points or less.
URBANA AT A GLANCE
Since an upset road victory at Fairmont State, Urbana has dropped nine straight games including a double-overtime decision on the road to Glenville State Saturday. The Blue Knights are well-balanced in scoring with five players averaging double-figures, but none scoring more than 16 points per game. Malik Jacobs is the top scorer at 15.8 points per game. Matt Treacy (13.3 points per game) and Ethan Snapp (13.2) are second and third in scoring. UU has allowed a field-goal percentage of more than 50 percent 13 times this season, including a season-high 67.3 to Concord in November.
