Concord Concludes Regular Season at West Virginia Wesleyan, Versus Glenville State

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

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team looks to rebound from a loss against nationally-ranked Charleston as it takes on West Virginia Wesleyan 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a road contest before welcoming Glenville State 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 coverage of Saturday's home game on 94.5 "Willie" FM and online at www.mywillie.com
Stats: Both the Concord University and West Virginia Wesleyan Sports Information Departments will provide live in-game statistics of the games. 
Video: Live streaming video will be available throughout the week with Reed and Cox's commentary being simulcast for Saturday's game. 

RECORDS
The Mountain Lions are 7-6 after their three-game win streak was snapped Saturday.

West Virginia Wesleyan is still searching for its first win at 0-13.

Glenville State has not been able to play since February 8, but checks in at 7-2 on the season.

THE FINISH LINE
After missing three games due to injury in the middle part of January, sophomore guard Ethan Heller has been strong since returning from injury. He was held to just 17 combined points in his first three games back in the lineup. However, since the calendar flipped to February, Heller is averaging 19.1 points per game in six contests during the month. Included in that is a career-best 33 points on 12-for-21 shooting against West Virginia State last Wednesday. Heller also dished out a career-high eight assists in the 96-81 win for the Mountain Lions. Coupled with 17 points versus Charleston, the 50 points for Heller are the most in a two-game stretch for Thornville, Ohio native in his career. Senior forward David Bea Mulumba has also come on strong in the season's final month, particularly from the three-point line where he is shooting 41.6 percent (15-for-36) from three-point range in six games during the month. Over the last three games, Mulumba is shooting 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from beyond the arc.

APPROACHING A MILESTONE
Senior guard/forward Malik Johnson is coming up on 1,000 points for his career as he needs 45 to become the 40^th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points, and the first since Tommy Bolte reached the accomplishment February 10, 2018. Johnson has accelerated his way to 1,000 career points recently as he has scored at least 17 points in five straight games, including a career-best 26 points in the win at West Virginia State. Additionally, Johnson's free-throw shooting has picked up over the last three games. A 60.2 percent foul shooter on the year, Johnson is 18-for-25 (72 percent) over the last three games, and tied his career best with 10 made free throws on 14 attempts at charity stripe against West Virginia State.

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
Before the setback against Charleston where CU only scored 65 points, the Mountain Lions had scored at least 70 points in three consecutive games for the first time this season. The 96 points at WVSU were a season high. Concord lit up the scoreboard by hitting 33 three-pointers in a three-game stretch. Heller, Johnson and Mulumba have been the driving forces behind CU's scoring recently as the trio is combining to average 56.4 points per game in the last four contests, but junior guard Brandon Kennedy has thrown in an average of 8.2 points per game in the last four. Before UC limited the Mountain Lions to 36 percent shooting, Concord had gone three straight shooting at least 45 percent from the field.

TIGHT BATTLES
Though West Virginia Wesleyan is giving up 92.4 points per game in 2021, five of the last six games at Wesleyan between CU and the Bobcats have been tight, low-scoring affairs. WVWC won in overtime, 83-80, last season, but before that one or both teams didn't crack 70 points in five consecutive games. Concord hasn't won at the Rockefeller Center since December 2017 when it took an 80-69 victory back to Athens. Earlier this season, the Mountain Lions held off a late Wesleyan rally in the third game of the season to claim a 73-69 win at home. Senior forward Liam Evans posted a career-best 22 points to go with nine rebounds. Kennedy registered a season-best 13 points. In his last three games against the Bobcats, Kennedy is shooting 54.1 percent (13-for-24) from three-point range that included a career-best seven triples that led to a career-high 22 points in a 98-83 home win for CU last season.

STRENGTH VERSUS STRENGTH
Concord continues to lead the MEC in defensive rebounding rate as the Mountain Lions grab 74.8 percent of opponents' misses. Though the Pioneers haven't played in over two weeks, Glenville State is pulling down 17.1 offensive rebounds per game in 2021. The 38 percent of offensive rebounds GSC records is second in the conference. Over the last eight games, Concord has allowed nine or fewer offensive rebounds to the opponent six times. CU has also been stingy on giving up three-pointers this season as the Maroon and Gray allows just 6.8 triples per game, best in the MEC. Additionally, the 31.5 percent opponents shoot from behind the arc against Concord is second lowest in the MEC. Glenville State leads the conference in three-pointers made per game at 11.7

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
19- Season-high assists for Concord in the first meeting with Wesleyan, including a career-best seven from Johnson.

21- Points scored by Johnson in a loss to Glenville State last year at home, which matched a previous career high.

34.7- Average minutes played by Johnson, sixth-most in the MEC.

WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE
Jaylin Reed and his 20.5 points per game ranks seventh in the MEC. Ross Young scores 15.2 points per game, and is one of the most efficient players in the league as he shoots 59 percent from the floor. Daylin Lee rounds out the double-figure scorers with 14.4 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Despite being winless, the Bobcats have had chances to get in the win column including a three-point loss at Davis & Elkins, a four-point defeat at Frostburg State, a four-point game at Concord and a five-point home loss to West Virginia State. Opponents are making 10.6 three-pointers per game against WVWC.

GLENVILLE STATE AT A GLANCE
In GSC's final game before a program pause on February 8, John Williams scored the second-most points in MEC history with 52 at Frostburg State. Williams leads the conference in scoring at 26.0 points per game. Hegel Augustin is one of three players in the MEC averaging a double-double with 21.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest. Nicholas Edwards is scoring 18.1 points per game and handing out an MEC-best 7.2 assists per contest. The Pioneers are scheduled to face Charleston and Fairmont State this week before traveling to Concord Saturday. GSC is coached by Wyoming County native Justin Caldwell.