WHEELING, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team saw its season come to an end in the Mountain East Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Round Friday night against West Liberty as the Hilltoppers won 100-85 inside WesBanco Arena.
WLU (25-4) went on a run in each half to separate itself from the Mountain Lions (12-18).
With Concord holding onto a 17-15 lead after a three-point play from sophomore guard
Brandon Kennedy at the 14:18 mark, West Liberty outscored CU 19-4 over the next 4:31 to take a 34-21 edge.
Concord was able to cut the deficit to six points, 43-37, after Kennedy hit two more free throws at the 3:38 mark, but the Mountain Lions trailed 55-42 at halftime.
CU was able to hang tough with West Liberty in the early stages of the second half as freshman guard
Ethan Heller connected on one of his five three-pointers in the game to cut the WLU lead back to 59-49 with 18:16 remaining in the game.
However, the Hilltoppers went on a 17-3 run over the next four minutes to create a 76-52 lead. The Mountain Lions were able to work the deficit back under 20 points in the final two minutes as they finished the game on a 9-0 run.
Senior guard
Trey Brisco closed his career with 26 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. The Stephens City, Virginia native averaged 26.5 points in two games at this year's MEC Tournament, and in his career was 30-for-31 at the foul line in the MEC Tournament, a six-game stretch.
Heller netted 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including tying his career high in made three-pointers. Junior guard/forward
Malik Johnson added 12 points off the bench.
Three other Mountain Lions each added eight points—Kennedy, senior guard
Martin Kelly Jr. and junior forward
David Bea Mulumba. Kelly grabbed 10 rebounds as he just missed a double-double.
The Mountain Lions shot 52.7 percent (29-for-55) in the game, but had 24 turnovers that led to West Liberty scoring 36 points off of the turnovers.
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