Concord Seeks to Build Momentum Versus Alderson-Broaddus, at Notre Dame

Concord Stats - Alderson-Broaddus Stats - Notre Dame Stats - Live Audio - Live Stats - Live Video

ATHENS, W.Va. - After an 81-79 overtime victory over West Virginia State, the Concord University men's basketball goes for its third straight win when it hosts Alderson-Broaddus 7:30 p.m. Wednesday before heading to Notre Dame 4:00 p.m. Saturday in two Mountain East Conference games.

LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: Jason Reed and Steve Cox will have live radio play-by-play of Wednesday's game on 94.5 "Willie" FM and streaming online at www.mywillie.com
Stats: The Concord University and Notre Dame College Sports Information will have live in-game statistics of the games. 
Video: Live streaming will be provided for the contests involving the Mountain Lions. 

RECORDS
Concord is 3-4 this season and evened its record to 1-1 in the MEC after Monday night.

Alderson-Broaddus is also 1-1 in the league and 3-2 overall.

Notre Dame sports a mark of 5-0 and is 2-0 versus MEC foes.

WORKIN' 9 TO OVERTIME
Concord played its second overtime game of the season in Monday's win. The Mountain Lions opened the season with a 96-91 loss to Pitt-Johnstown in OT. And dating back to last season, CU has played three overtime games in its last nine overall contests. On Monday, junior guard Ethan Heller and fifth-year senior forward Lual Daniel Rahama were leaned on heavily late in regulation and overtime. The duo combined for 28 of Concord's 41 points in the second half and overtime. Rahama had his second 20-point game in the last three contests as he netted 21 points versus West Virginia State. Heller connected on three three-pointers, including the game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation as he is tied for the team lead in triples with fifth-year senior guard Matt Weir at 18. Only four other teams in Division II have played two overtime games this season, Eckerd, Henderson State, Missouri Southern and Seattle Pacific.

CHERISH THE ROCK
CU committed a season-low seven turnovers as Weir spearheaded the ball handling for the Mountain Lions Monday. Weir handed out eight assists to up his lead in the MEC in assists per game to 6.7. The Nashport, Ohio native committed just two turnovers versus WVSU. The seven turnovers are the fewest for the Maroon and Gray since giving away the ball just seven times in the 2020 MEC Tournament versus Notre Dame. With the high assist rate—18.0 per game—and the low turnovers, Concord ranks second in the MEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.29). Weir is fourth in the MEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6) while Heller is eighth (1.5). Alderson-Broaddus forces the third fewest turnovers in the MEC (13.0). The last time CU went back-to-back games with single-digit turnovers was January 2020 against West Virginia Wesleyan and Wheeling.

GETTING DOWN AND GUARDING
Over the last few seasons, the Mountain Lions have hung their hat on stopping opponents from making a bunch of three-pointers. Through seven games, Concord is allowing opponents to shoot 26.3 percent from three-point range, second lowest in the MEC. CU held West Virginia State to 17.2 percent (5-for-29) Monday night which was the second straight matchup against WVSU that the Maroon and Gray held the Yellow Jackets below 20 percent from three-point range. Senior guard Brandon Kennedy was largely responsible for holding Glen Abram, one of the MEC's best shooters, to 2-for-14 from three-point range Monday. Rahama and junior guard Jevon Laidler limited Anthony Pittman to 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Notre Dame is the MEC's best three-point shooting team, 46.5 percent, while Alderson-Broaddus shoots a respectable 34.6 percent from deep. Though the Battlers won 75-66 at the Carter Center last season, Concord held them to 30 percent from three-point range.

ON THE MARK
The Mountain Lions connected on 11 three-pointers against West Virginia State, marking the fifth time this season CU has amassed 10 or more triples in a game. Heller and freshman guard Darius Parham came off the bench to combine for five three-pointers while Kennedy knocked down three to tie Heller for the team lead in triples. Weir hit on two shots from behind the arc. A season ago, Concord made 10 or more three-pointers just four times in 17 games. While still early in the season, Concord's 37.8 percent rate from three-point range would rank in the top 10 all-time in program history for a single season. Weir (third/42.9 percent) and Heller (sixth/38.3 percent) are in the top six of the MEC in three-point percentage.

COOLING THEM OFF
Concord faces Notre Dame Saturday  as the Falcons travel to Glenville State before hosting the Mountain Lions. To date, NDC has the best early-season win in the MEC as it knocked off West Liberty last week, 82-81. CU will be looking for its first win at Notre Dame since the 2016-17 season when it defeated the Falcons, 95-87. The Falcons have won seven of their last nine home games dating back to the 2021 season with the winning margin in the seven wins being just under 10 points. Last season, the Falcons downed Concord, 71-56.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
13- Blocks by senior forward Da'Vion Moore who has more blocks in seven games this season than any CU player had in 17 games last season.

36.5- Shooting percentage that Concord held WVSU to Monday night, the first time CU has held consecutive opponents to less than 40 percent in a 29-game stretch.

81- Shots attempted by Concord versus WVSU, the second highest in an MEC game this year.

ALDERSON-BROADDUS AT A GLANCE
No A-B player averages more than 13 points per game, but five players score at least nine points per game. KJ Walker is making 65 percent of his shots and averages 13.0 points per game. Eman Eman comes off the bench to score 12.8 points per game and is shooting 63.4 percent from the field. Coached by one of the best marksmen in Division II history, Stephen Dye, the Battlers are making nine three-pointers per game. Alderson-Broaddus hasn't played since last Tuesday, an 83-80 win over Wheeling, as it nearly let a double-digit second-half lead slip away.

NOTRE DAME AT A GLANCE
Tyland Crawford is the reigning MEC Player of the Week after scoring 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting in NDC's upset of West Liberty. Besides Concord, the Falcons are the only other team in the conference to play an overtime game this season, a 99-95 win at Slippery Rock to start the year. Jaedon Willis is dumping in 21.8 points per game this season, third in the MEC. Michael Sampson averages just shy of a double-double per game with 12 points and 9.5 rebounds. NDC averages the second-most turnovers in the conference at 15.5 per game.