Concord Clashes with Nationally-Ranked West Liberty, Wheeling

Concord Stats - West Liberty Stats - Wheeling Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team looks to put a brief three-game losing strreak behind it when it travels to take on nationally-ranked West Liberty 7:30 p.m. Wednesday before hosting Wheeling 4:00 p.m. Saturday at the Carter Center in two Mountain East Conference games.

LIVE COVERAGE
Stats: The Concord and West Liberty Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics of both games
Video: Live streaming vidoe is available for the game involving Concord this week. 

RECORDS
The Mountain Lions are 4-7 this season and 2-4 in the MEC.

West Liberty is ranked eighth in Division II at 11-1 overall and 5-1 versus the conference.

Wheeling is 3-9 this season and sports a 2-4 mark in the MEC.

RAPID PRODUCTIVITY
Fifth-year senior guard Matt Weir went into the Christmas Break with a career performance as he poured in 28 points against Frostburg State on an efficient 8-of-16 from the floor and a 10-for-11 showing from the foul line. Weir is the first CU player to make 10 foul shots in the same game since Malik Johnson last season at West Virginia State when he was 10-for-13 at the charity stripe in a road win. In three of his last four games, Weir has scored at least 21 points. The Nashport, Ohio native is nearly scoring a point per minute in three of his last four games. To begin the month of December, Weir had 21 points in 25 minutes in a win over Alderson-Broaddus. And scored his 28 in 30 minutes versus FSU. He also had 27 points in 33 minutes at Notre Dame. Over his last four games, Weir is shooting 46.2 percent from the field (25-for-54) and has cashed in on 16-of-18 free throws.

BALANCED EFFORT
For the first time since the second game of the season, CU put four players in double figures in the setback versus Frostburg State. Along with Weir's career night, the Mountain Lions received a career-high 13 points from sophomore guard Jordan Wooden off the bench as he went 4-for-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the foul line. Junior guard Ethan Heller added 10 points while sophomore guard Dorian Groggs continued his strong play off the bench as he matched Heller's 10 points on a 4-for-6 showing. On Groggs, he has notched back-to-back games of 10 points while shooting 50 percent (8-of-16) from the floor. Against Frostburg State, Wooden tied his career high in minutes played as the Roanoke, Virginia native saw 28 minutes of action, the same number he had in an upset win over West Liberty last year at the Carter Center.

MAKINGS OF AN UPSET
The Mountain Lions knocked off West Liberty when the Hilltoppers were ranked fourth in Division II, 91-83. West Liberty defeated Concord in the MEC Tournament last season to split the season series. The Maroon and Gray shot nearly 55 percent in the victory and stepped up to the foul line and made 26 free throws as it shot 76.5 percent from the charity stripe. While scoring is paramount against the high-octane Hilltoppers, the Mountain Lions were key on the glass. Concord held a 33-26 rebounding advantage and limited WLU to 10 offensive rebounds, a team that routinely grabs 15 or more offensive boards each game. That's compared to the Hilltoppers outrebounding the Mountain Lions 50-37 in the MEC Tournament. Additionally, Concord forced West Liberty into 17 turnovers with senior guard Brandon Kennedy pressing All-American Dalton Bolon into seven giveaways.

CLOSE CALLS
Two of the last three matchups between Concord and Wheeling have been decided by three points or less—both played at Wheeling's McDonough Center. Two years ago, Wheeling survived a buzzer-beater  by Concord to win 74-71. Last season—in the lone meeting—it was CU that had to dodge a late attempt from Cardinals in a 74-73 win. Heller netted 23 points in the victory, which was in the middle of a seven-game stretch where the Thornville, Ohio native scored at least 17 points in six games. The Cardinals have not shot better than 42 percent in each of the last three meetings with Concord. The game sandwiched in between the two tight contests was a 101-75 CU win in February 2020 at home. Heller had another 20-point performance versus WU while Kennedy poured in 16 points in the convincing win.

BE THE HAMMER
As previously mentioned the Hilltoppers are an outstanding offensive rebounding team as they gather 33 percent of their misses and average 13 offensive boards per game. However, under head coach Todd May the Mountain Lions have been one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the conference. This season, CU is collecting 75 percent of opponents' misses, second in the MEC. Since giving up double-digit offensive rebounds in three straight games to start the season, Concord has only allowed 10 or more offensive rebounds once in the last eight games—West Virginia State had 15 offensive rebounds versus CU in late November. And Concord has only been outrebounded once in the last six games, also versus West Virginia State.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3- Wednesday night will be the third time this season Concord faces a nationally-ranked team having already played Indiana (Pa.) and Fairmont State.

41.7- Three-point percentage for Weir this season, fourth in the MEC.

87- Percent from the foul line for CU against Frostburg State (20-of-23), the highest since January 2020 versus Davis & Elkins.

WEST LIBERTY AT A GLANCE
Despite the loss of Bolon to Division I College of Charleston and All-MEC performer Will  Yoakum out with injury, the Hilltoppers have not missed a beat averaging 96.8 points per game. Pat Robinson is in the top five in the MEC in scoring at 20.4 points per game. Bryce Butler (17.3) and Malik McKinney (10.8) round out the double-figure scorers, but four other players average at least six points per game. WLU forces 21.7 turnovers per game which is third most in Division II. And the 20.2 assists per game that the Hilltoppers hand out are third in the country as well.

WHEELING AT A GLANCE
One of the most-experienced backcourt in the MEC, Jay Gentry, Jarett Haines and Jordan Reid, lead the attack for the Cardinals. Reid is seventh in the conference in scoring at 18.6 points per game. Reid has attempted just six three-pointers on the season. Haines is having his best year in a Wheeling uniform by scoring 17.2 points per game. Gentry adds 9.6 points per game. WU poses one of the best scoring defenses in the MEC allowing just 75.9 points per game, second in the league. The Cardinals are the best free-throw shooting team in the MEC (76.9).