ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team shot 55.4 percent and sank 14 three-pointers as it held off Glenville State, 86-82, Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference game at the Carter Center.
The Mountain Lions led for over 33 minutes, but had to shield off seven ties and nine lead changes to secure the win.
Trailing Glenville State (6-9, 3-8 MEC) 63-62, the Mountain Lions (7-10, 5-7 MEC) rattled off a 14-3 run over a 3:49 span of the second half to take a 76-66 lead with 5:48 left after junior forward
Jevon Laidler canned one of his four three-pointers in the contest. Laidler and fifth-year senior guard
Matt Weir paced the run with five points apiece.
CU continued to hold off Glenville State by at least three points until the Pioneers got within 82-80 with 48 seconds left. Still holding the same margin with 17 seconds remaining, Weir stepped up and knocked in two free throws. After GSC hit its own pair or foul shots, Laidler came through with two makes at the charity stripe with 12 seconds remaining to help the Mountain Lions secure the four-point win.
The first half saw neither team grab momentum until the final five minutes. Sophomore guard
Cade Fix hit back-to-back three-pointers that sparked a 14-2 run ending up with a triple from Laidler to push the Mountain Lions up 43-29 with 1:54 remaining in the opening half. However, GSC cut the margin to 43-36 at the break.
Concord opened up a lead as large as nine points, 56-47, with 13:35 remaining before GSC rattled off a 16-6 run to take the brief lead. Concord answered that run on its way to a home victory.
Led by a 9-of-13 showing from the field, Laidler poured in a career-best 25 points and added eight rebounds. Weir tallied his second double-double in the Maroon and Gray with 22 points and a career-high tying 11 assists.
Fix was a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range as he finished in double figures for the first time in his Concord career, posting 12 points. Freshman forward
Amare Smith netted 11 points in the win.
The 14 three-pointers tie for the second most three-pointers made in a game this season. CU was a very efficient 56 percent from beyond the arc (14-of-25). The Mountain Lions shot at least 53 percent in both halves and ended the game making 31-of-56 shots.
Paced by Weir's 11 assists, Concord handed out 19 assists and only committed nine turnovers.
The Mountain Lions finish up a three-game home set when it plays Notre Dame 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Carter Center.
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