ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team shot out to a 17-point lead halfway through the first half and never looked back as it defeated West Virginia State, 89-75, Wednesday night in a Mountain East Conference game at the Carter Center.
In the process, the Mountain Lions (11-16, 8-13 MEC) secured a berth in the upcoming MEC Tournament.
Down 8-6 to West Virginia State (18-8, 13-8 MEC) in the first three minutes of the game, senior guard
Trey Brisco's three-pointer jumpstarted a 21-4 Concord run that lasted just over eight minutes as CU took a 29-12 lead at the 10:33 mark.
Brisco and freshman
Ethan Heller each had two three-pointers during the run while junior forward
Liam Evans came off the bench to record four points. In total, the Mountain Lions' run was 30-5 as they took their biggest lead of the game, 23 points—36-13—with 6:50 remaining in the first half.
The advantage remained at least 13 points for the remainder of the half as CU was up 49-29 at the intermission.
WVSU made several attempts to cut into the Concord lead, but the closest it got was 12 points, 79-67, with 4:20 left in the contest. Junior guard/forward
Malik Johnson scored four straight points to restore as a 16-point edge as CU won by 14 points.
Sophomore guard
Brandon Kennedy led five players in double figures as he threw in five three-pointers—four in the first half—and scored 17 points in the contest. Junior forward
David Bea Mulumba missed a double-double by one rebound as he tallied 15 points and nine rebounds.
Brisco added 14 points, six rebounds and six assists while holding the MEC's fourth-leading scorer—Glen Abram—to five points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Heller posted 11 points and Johnson poured in 10 points off the bench. In his first action since February 8, Evans provided eight points and eight rebounds.
The Mountain Lions held a decisive 45-22 rebounding margin, and held WVSU to 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the floor.
Concord finished the game shooting 47.8 percent (32-for-67).
CU plays its final regular season game as it hosts Glenville State 4:00 p.m. Saturday.
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