GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team used a second-half surge to pull away from Glenville State for a 90-80 victory Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference game at the Waco Center.
Leading 46-44 in the first four minutes of the second half, Concord (14-14, 11-11 MEC) used a 14-3 run to separate itself from the Pioneers (12-15, 8-14 MEC). Fifth-year senior guard
Matt Weir scored eight of his 16 points during the spurt and capped the run with a three-pointer as Concord took a 60-47 lead at the 12:19 mark of the second half.
GSC made a couple of runs at the Mountain Lions' advantage as it closed to within 68-60 with 6:51 remaining. But, CU had an answer as freshman forward
Amare Smith scored eight of the next 10 Concord points to help the Maroon and Gray open up a 78-62 lead with five minutes to go.
Again, Glenville State whittled the margin to six points, 80-74, but the Mountain Lions kept the Pioneers at bay. Weir and junior guard
Ethan Heller combined to go 8-for-8 at the foul line in the final two minutes, and sophomore guard
Jordan Wooden punctuated the victory with a dunk in the final minute.
The teams traded the lead five times in the opening half that included five ties.
Trailing 34-32, Heller scored the final six points of the first half to give Concord a 38-34 advantage at hafltime. GSC took a brief 39-38 lead, but back-to-back buckets from fifth-year senior forward
Lual Daniel Rahama gave Concord the lead for good.
Smith and Weir led a balanced scoring effort for the Mountain Lions. Smith recorded his second double-double in the last three games with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He was 7-of-10 from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range. Weir tossed made all nine free throws to aide his 16-point performance.
Wooden was 6-for-9 from the floor in his 13-point outing. Heller and Rahama both had 12 points.
Concord shot 53.3 percent from the floor (32-for-60) and was 47.1 percent (10-of-21) from three-point distance. CU assisted on 21 of 32 made field goals as Heller, Rahama and Weir all had four assists.
CU owned a 44-35 rebounding edge.
The Mountain Lions have secured the sixth seed in the upcoming MEC Tournament and will play third-seeded Charleston 2:30 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinal round at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia.
Â
