ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team carries a two-game winning streak into road games at Frostburg State 7:30 p.m. Thursday and at Fairmont State 4:00 p.m. Saturday in Mountain East Conference matchups.
LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: Live radio play-by-play of the Frostburg State game will be aired on 99.5 FM WDZN out of Cumberland, Maryland while Travis Jones and Duane Cochran will have radio coverage of the Concord-Fairmont State matchup on 106.5 FM WWLW.
Stats: Live in-game statistics will be available of both courtesy from each school's Sports Information Office.
Video: Live streaming will also be provided for both games this week.
RECORDS
The Mountain Lions are 7-13 this season and sport a 4-10 mark in the MEC.
Frostburg State has an identical record both overall and in the conference.
Fairmont State is 14-5 on the year and has a 9-5 record in the MEC.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
Concord played in its ninth game of the season in which the outcome was decided by five points or less as it defeated Bluefield State, 74-71, Monday night in non-conference action. CU is now 3-6 in such games this season. Down 71-70 with 24 seconds left, senior guard
Trey Brisco rebounded an offensive miss and converted a layup to push Concord in front. It was the latest go-ahead basket for the Maroon and Gray in a win since
Jair Rodgers hit a three-pointer last February 27 against West Virginia State with three seconds remaining in the game. The other two wins CU has by five points or less were both 79-76 wins over Pitt-Johnstown and Notre Dame, respectively.
EVEN DISTRIBUTION
Junior forward
Liam Evans led the Mountain Lions in scoring against Bluefield State with 17 points as he shot 8-for-10 from the field. Over the last two games, the Melbourne, Australia native is 13-for-15 from the floor. However, Concord has had four different leading scorers in the last four games. Senior guard
Martin Kelly Jr. had 19 points in a win over Urbana. Brisco dumped in a career-high 31 points at Notre Dame and junior guard/forward
Malik Johnson had 19 points at Glenville State. Only Brisco (seven) and Johnson (five) have led CU in scoring five or more time this season. Brisco paced the Mountain Lions against Frostburg State with 16 points while Johnson had 15 off the bench versus Fairmont State.
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Over the last two games, Concord has shot 53.1 and 53.8 percent of its shots in the first halves of wins over Urbana and Bluefield State as the hot shooting led to CU posting 43 points against BSC in the first half—the third-highest scoring first 20 minutes for the Mountain Lions this season. The sizzling start versus Urbana carried over to the second half as Concord recorded a season-best 60.4 percent for the entire game in the 69-60 victory over the Blue Knights. Besides Evans' recent stretch, freshman guard Heller is shooting 55 percent (11-for-20) over his last two games and Kelly is 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) in his last two contests.
HARD TO COME BY
The Mountain Lions will have their recent string of hot shooting put to the test against Frostburg State, the MEC's best defense in terms of field-goal defense. The Bobcats are holding teams to 44.2 percent shooting this season. And FSU holds teams to an MEC-best 31.2 percent from three-point range. Earlier this season, Frostburg State defeated Concord 62-58 by limiting the Maroon and Gray to 30.5 percent from the field. Heller (50 percent / 4-for-8) and Johnson (40 percent / 6-for-15) were the only CU players to shoot 40 percent or better against the Bobcats in December. CU's defense stood tall against Frostburg State by limiting it to 37.1 percent from the floor.
ROAD TESTED
In each of the last three meetings between Concord and Fairmont State, the road team has won in each instance. Fairmont State won a 91-67 game at the Carter Center December 10. Concord grabbed a 91-80 road win last February in Fairmont, West Virginia. Fairmont State won a 93-83 overtime game last January at the Carter Center. Two common themes led to the road team winning: double-digit made three-pointers and holding the other team to under 45 percent from the field. FSU held CU to 42.6 percent while making 10 triples in December. Last year at Fairmont State, the Mountain Lions hit 11 three-pointers and clamped down on the Fighting Falcons to 39.5 percent. FSU made 12 three-pointers at Concord last year and limited CU to 43.9 percent.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2- Concord carries a two-game win streak into a game for the first time this season.
8- CU has 10 or more assists in eight of the last nine games, including 17 against Urbana Saturday.
9- Steals by Brisco over the last four games
FROSTBURG STATE AT A GLANCE
Frostburg State will unveil its newly-designed floor inside Bobcat Arena Thursday night. Previously, FSU have played its other six home games at either Allegheny College or Garrett College. Despite averaging 76 points per game, the Bobcats are only making six three-pointers per game this season, second fewest in the MEC. Daniel Alexander (21.2 points per game) is one of two players in the conference averaging at least 20 points per game—the other is Glenville State's Phil Bledsoe. Joe Adedayo is the only other Bobcats player pouring in double figures scoring per game at 11.5. FSU has lost three straight games ahead of Thursday.
FAIRMONT STATE AT A GLANCE
The Fighting Falcons had a four-game winning streak snapped by Charleston on the road Saturday. One of the most complete guards in the MEC, Dale Bonner, leads Fairmont State in scoring at 18.8 points per game. Bonner also posts 4.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Cole VanHondorf complements Bonner in the FSU backcourt with 17.6 points per game while shooting 40.2 percent (45-for-112) from three-point distance. Kenzie Melko-Marshall (16.2 points per game) and Isaiah Sanders (11.9) round the double-digit scorers for Fairmont State. The Fighting Falcons are 8-2 at home this season.
