ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team ran out to a 29-13 lead on Fairmont State as it held off multiple surges from the nationally-ranked, 19
th-rated Fighting Falcons in an 86-83 win Tuesday night at the Carter Center in a Mountain East Conference game.
Holding onto a 10-9 lead four minutes into the game, Concord (6-3, 3-2 MEC) got hot from the floor as it made eight of its next 11 shots to grab a 29-13 lead with 10:50 remaining in the first half. The run was paced by seven points from junior guard
JJ Harper.
However, the Mountain Lions allowed Fairmont State (5-2, 3-2 MEC) to creep back into the game as the Fighting Falcons ran off a 19-3 spurt over the next 6:44 to tie the game at 32-32. Concord weathered the storm and scored eight straight points, aiding a 44-38 lead at halftime.
The lead swelled to 13 points, 55-42, five minutes into the second half after sophomore forward
Amare Smith connected on one of his four three-pointers at the 15:04 mark. FSU whittled the margin down to eight points, 61-53, but the lead grew back to 14 points after a layup from freshman guard
Kollin Tolbert with 11:38 remaining.
Again, Fairmont State surged to cut the deficit to five points, 76-71, with 5:06 left—the closest FSU had been since the closing stages of the first half. Senior guard
Ethan Heller had an answer for the Mountain Lions, though, as his second of consecutive three-pointers helped Concord's lead stretch back out to 11 points, 82-71, with 3:47 left.
Hanging onto an 83-81 edge with 15 seconds remaining, Concord watched Fairmont State miss consecutive free throws. Graduate guard
Lual Daniel Rahama made one free throw. The Mountain Lions got a stop on the next possession on a desperation three-pointer. Junior guard
Jordan Wooden secured the win with two more free throws with four seconds remaining.
Concord entered the game only making five three-pointers per contest, and shooting 30 percent from distance this season, however, Concord connected on 12 triples Tuesday, and shot 66.7 percent (12-for-18). Heller and Smith combined to go 8-of-10 from three-point range.
Harper led CU with a career-best 20 points. Smith joined Harper off the bench as he finished with 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Keyed by his clutch three-pointers down the stretch, Heller netted 17 points to go with seven rebounds.
Rahama just missed a double-double with nine points and a team-best eight boards.
Facing a 40-minute press, Concord only committed 10 turnovers.
For a second straight game, the Mountain Lions never trailed as they led for 38:27.
CU travels to Frostburg State 4:00 p.m. Saturday.
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