ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team fell short against West Liberty inside the Carter Center in Mountain East Conference play Wednesday night, 104-79.
The Hilltoppers (10-3, 5-2 MEC) started fast and jumped out to a 25-15 lead seven minutes into the game as they maintained a lead of eight at least until the 8:07 mark of the first half. Senior guard
Trey Brisco hit a three-pointers at the 8:07 mark that sparked a Concord (4-8 2-5 MEC) rally over the next four minutes.
The triple cut the lead to 35-28 before junior forward
Liam Evans and junior guard/forward
Malik Johnson hit layups. Sophomore guard
Brandon Kennedy capped the quick 10-0 run on a three-pointer at the 6:21 mark.
CU kept paced with West Liberty and took a 42-39 edge after another Brisco three-pointer and a layup from Kennedy at the 4:30 mark. Though, WLU was able to outscore Concord 12-4 over the remainder of the half to take a 51-46 advantage into halftime.
Evans got a layup to go down 42 seconds in the second half, but it was as close the Mountain Lions would get for the remainder of the game.
Still within striking distance of 71-60 with 12:44 remaining, Concord saw the Hilltopers go on a 9-0 spurt in less than two minutes to put their lead to 20 points.
Brisco led the way with a team-high 20 points that included three three-pointers. The Stephens City, Virginia added 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, and his first since the third game of the 2018-19 season.
Johnson matched Brisco's three triples to aid his 16-point game. Evans recorded 11 points while freshman guard
Ethan Heller tallied 10 points.
Coming into Wednesday, WLU was forcing opponents into nearly 22 turnovers per game, but Concord committed just 15 and had a +2 turnover margin in the contest.
Concord travels to Wheeling 4:00 p.m. Saturday for an MEC tilt. Â
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