ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team posted its best shooting percentage in 49 games as it topped the century mark in a 101-75 win over Wheeling at the Carter Center Thursday night in a Mountain East Conference game.
The Mountain Lions (8-15, 5-12 MEC) shot 67.3 percent (37-for-55) in the win and stroked in 13 three-pointers on 20 attempts. It was the best percentage for CU from the field since it hit on 67.3 percent against Urbana in late November of 2018.
Concord came flying out of the gate as it opened the game on an 18-4 run over the first 4:49 of the contest. The early scoring was led by sophomore guard
Brandon Kennedy and junior forward
David Bea Mulumba who combined for 14 of the 18 points.
The largest lead of the first half for CU came on a driving layup by sophomore guard
Kam Harris at the 10:07 mark as Concord led by 20 points, 28-8. And the Maroon and Gray re-established the same advantage after Kennedy hit for three of his 13 first-half points to stretch the lead to 31-11.
Wheeling (12-9, 9-8 MEC) was able to trim the deficit to 45-32 at halftime.
After the Cardinals hit a three-pointer to start the second half, Concord outscored Wheeling 21-10 over the next six minutes to open up a 66-45 lead. The lead remained at least 20 points for the remainder of the contest.
Senior guard
Martin Kelly Jr. gave the Mountain Lions a 30-point lead, 79-49, after two foul shots at the 10:16 mark of the second half. The lead grew to as much as 36 points, 94-58, after freshman guard
Ethan Heller rained in three of his 20 points on the night.
The final two Concord buckets caem from redshirt freshman forward
Gavin Pruett who pushed CU over 100 points for the first time this season with 13 seconds left in the game.
Mulumba and Heller tied for the game high in scoring as Mulumba canned all eight shots he attempted on the night, including all four three-pointers. For Mulumba, it's the fourth-most made shots in an MEC game without a miss in the league's history.
Kennedy recorded with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Kelly Jr. added 14 points. Senior guard
Trey Brisco finished one rebound and one assist shy of a triple-double with 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Junior guard/forward
Malik Johnson became the sixth CU player with double figures by scoring 10 points.
Concord assisted on 24 made field goals in the game, its highest total since February 2016 at West Liberty.
The Mountain Lions face West Liberty on the road 4:00 p.m. Saturday.
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