ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team was unable to answer Charleston's second half run as it was downed 86-65 Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference game at the Carter Center.
The Golden Eagles (12-2), ranked 20
th in Division II raced out to a 25-15 lead at the halfway point of the first half, but CU (7-6) stayed within striking distance as it finished the final 5:37 of the first half on a 15-8 run.
Trailing by 11 with 2:27 left in the opening half, freshman guard
Jordan Wooden and senior forward
Liam Evans made back-to-back layups. After a Charleston three-pointer, senior forward
David Bea Mulumba responded with his own triple on one of five first-half assists from sophomore guard
Ethan Heller.
At the break, Concord trailed 44-37.
The two sides traded scores in the early stages of the second half, and the Mountain Lions trimmed the deficit to 50-45 at the 17:04 mark after two Heller foul shots. However, Charleston answered with an 8-0 burst to push the lead back to double digits as the Golden Eagles did not relinquish the double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest.
Senior guard/forward
Malik Johnson poured in 17 points, but was reduced to 25 minutes because of foul trouble. Heller also added 17 points as he finished 8-of-9 at the foul line. The Thornville, Ohio native also had five assists.
Evans recorded nine points and six rebounds while junior forward
Mohamed Bundu scored five points and collected a game-best nine rebounds.
The Mountain Lions take to the road for their final regular-season away contest when they visit West Virginia Wesleyan 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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