Concord Puts Win Streak Up Against West Virginia State, Charleston

Concord Stats - West Virginia State Stats - Charleston Stats - Live Audio - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team concludes a two-game road trip at West Virginia State 7:30 p.m. Wednesday before hosting nationally-ranked Charleston 4:30 p.m. Saturday in two Mountain East Conference games.

LIVE COVERAGE
Audio: Jason Reed and Steve Cox will provide live radio play-by-play for Saturday's game on 94.5 "Willie" FM and online at www.mywillie.com
Stats: Both the West Virginia State and Concord University Sports Information Departments will provide live in-game statistics of the games. 
Video: Live streaming video is available for both contests this week. Saturday's radio broadcast will be simulcast on the video stream.

RECORDS
The Mountain Lions pushed their record to 6-5 on the season with a 74-73 road win over Wheeling Monday night.

West Virginia State is 6-4 on the year.

Since starting the season 0-2, Charleston has run off ten consecutive wins at 10-2 and is ranked 20^th in Division II.

FINDING A WAY
Concord held off Wheeling on Monday night—the second straight game CU has won by five points or less after clipping Davis & Elkins by five in overtime Saturday. The Mountain Lions improved to 6-1 this season in games decided by nine points or less, including 4-0 in games decided by five or fewer points. Last season, CU was just 4-7 in games decided by two possessions. Sophomore guard Ethan Heller aided the effort at Wheeling by scoring 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting—the first time in his career with back-to-back 20-point games after throwing in 25 points against Davis & Elkins. Senior guard/forward Malik Johnson netted 17 points, including making his 100^th career three-pointer in the first half, while senior forward David Bea Mulumba chipped in 15 points and 14 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

TRIPLE THREAT
Over the last two games, Concord has connected on 20 three-pointers, 10 each game, to set a season high in three-pointers each game. It marked the first time since last February that CU had made 10 or more three-pointers in back-to-back contests when it hit 27 combined three-pointers in games against West Virginia Wesleyan and West Virginia State. Monday was also the first time the Maroon and Gray canned double-digit three-pointers on the road since making 12 triples in an overtime loss to West Virginia Wesleyan last January. Of the 20 made three-pointers, Heller, junior guard Brandon Kennedy and Mulumba have combined for 16 with Mulumba hitting seven, Heller making five and Kennedy four. Over the last two games, the trio is shooting a combined 47.0 percent (16-for-34) from beyond the arc.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
On Monday night, Mulumba collected his first double-double since the first game of the season at UC, and sixth of his career with 15 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. All 15 points for the Antwerp, Belgium native came from three-point range. The five made three-pointers were one of Mulumba's single-game career high. Mulumba's previous career high in rebounds was 12, twice—earlier this season at Charleston and during the 2018-19 season at West Virginia State. Though Mulumba doesn't qualify to be among the MEC leaders in three-point shooting, he is still shooting 45 percent (18-for-40) from beyond the arc this season, and has made at least two three-pointers in four of eight games played in 2021.

LOCK DOWN
Saturday's contest will be a meeting of two of the top defenses in the MEC. In terms of scoring defense, Concord and Charleston have the two best. The Mountain Lions give up 74.6 points per game which is second in the MEC while UC's 72.1 points allowed per game leads the league. Earlier this season, CU pulled out a 64-62 win at Charleston with both teams shooting 40 percent or less in the contest. The 38.2 percent shooting that the Mountain Lions held Charleston to in the first meeting was the third-lowest of the season for CU's defense. The Golden Eagles are second in the MEC in field-goal defense (41.8) while Concord is third (42.6). Over the last two seasons, the Mountain Lions are 10-4 when holding the opponent to 75 points or less.

NO SHOT CLOCK NEEDED
The Mountain Lions are 5-2 in their last seven games at West Virginia State and have scored least 80 points in all seven contests while averaging 93.4 points per game. CU has shot 43 percent or better in six of the seven including shooting 50 percent the last two seasons at the Walker Convocation Center. Last season, Johnson scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 98-94 loss. During the 2018-19 season, Mulumba tallied his first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds in a 98-91 Maroon and Gray victory. At the end of the 2017-18 season, Concord scored 95 points in a four-point win as it shot 47.5 percent from the field. While CU is near the top of the MEC in scoring defense, West Virginia State's 86.6 points allowed per game is eighth in the conference.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
15- Average points per game for Heller in three career contests against Charleston.

23- Bench points for Concord in the first meeting with West Virginia State including 12 from junior forward Da'Vion Moore.

150- Saturday will be the 150^th meeting between Concord and UC with Charleston holding a 94-55 series lead. CU won the first meeting 20-18 in 1922.

WEST VIRGINIA STATE AT A GLANCE
After storming out to a 6-1 start, the Yellow Jackets have lost three straight games with each defeat coming by six points. West Virginia State has three of the top 15 scorers in the MEC led by Glen Abram's 23.0 points per game which ranks second in the league. Jeremiah Moore sits ninth in scoring at 19.4 points per game while Anthony Pittman is one of three players in the conference averaging a double-double with 17.3 points and 11.9 rebounds per contest. Earlier this season, Abram scored 32 points at Concord in an 89-74 victory for WVSU. Moore shoots 63.7 percent on the season which is second in the MEC.

CHARLESTON AT A GLANCE
Since dropping games to Concord and Glenville State to start the year, Charleston has won six of its 10 games by double figures including a 101-85 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan Saturday. The Golden Eagles have six players averaging at least 9.5 points per game, led by Lamont McManus' 14.1 average. McManus is just ahead of WVSU's Moore for the field-goal percentage lead at 63.8. Eddie Colbert and Keith Williams are combining for 22.7 points per game, and both shoot better than 38 percent from three-point range. Seth O'Neal scores 11.8 points per game while ranking third in the MEC in assists per game at 5.1.