ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team dropped a 98-89 decision to Wheeling Jesuit Thursday night in Mountain East Conference action at the Carter Center.
CU (14-7, 9-6 MEC) came out firing as it ripped of a 17-0 run over 3:48 of the first half to take a 22-10 lead on the Cardinals (4-13, 3-12 MEC). The run was ignited by junior guard
Jair Rodgers who threw in three three-pointers to cap the run at the 12:05 mark of the first half.
The Mountain Lions maintained a lead of at least seven points in the first half and led by as much as 18 points before settling for a 49-37 halftime advantage.
Wheeling Jesuit came out of the locker room and immediately trimmed the Concord lead to three, 49-46, with 17:25 remaining in the game. The Concord lead would stay at or under two possessions until two free throws from junior forward
Trey Brisco pushed CU out front 71-63. Still leading by nine, 81-72, after a Brisco layup, the Mountain Lions watched WJU score nine unanswered points to tie the game with 4:06 remaining.
With the score knotted at 85-85, the Cardinals banked in a three-pointer with 1:19 left in the contest and did relinquish the lead.
Rodgers matched his career high with 34 points including a 6-for-9 showing from three-point range. Rodgers also hit all eight free throw attempts. Senior guard
Tommy Bolte added 22 points as he also converted all eight foul shots.
Sophomore guard/forward
Malik Johnson added 12 points and three steals off the bench. Brisco contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.
Junior forward
Simun Kovac pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
Concord welcomes nationally-ranked West Liberty to the Carter Center 3:00 p.m. Saturday.
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