Concord Starts Critical Four-Game Road Trip at Salem, Charleston

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ATHENS W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team begins a four-game road trip 4:00 p.m. Monday in a non-conference tilt before facing off against Charleston 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night in a meeting of Mountain East Conference rivals.

LIVE COVERAGE
Both the Salem and Charleston Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics and live streaming video of both games. 

Live Stats
Live Video

SERIES HISTORY vs. Salem: SU leads 44-35
SERIES HISTORY vs. Charleston: UC leads 100-55

LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST SALEM
December 9, 2018: Concord 93 - Salem 76 (Salem, W.Va.)
January 14, 2010: Concord 67 - Salem 55 (Salem, W.Va.)
February 9, 2009: Concord 90 - Salem 69 (Salem, W.Va.)
February 8, 2008: Concord 68 - Salem 62 (Athens, W.Va.)
2006-07 Season: Salem 97 - Concord 82 (Salem, W.Va.)

LAST FIVE MEETINGS AGAINST CHARLESTON
November 19, 2022: Charleston 82 - Concord (Athens, W.Va.)
March 4, 2022: Charleston 88 - Concord 84 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
January 19, 2022: Charleston 99 - Concord 71 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 20, 2021: Charleston 94 - Concord 74 (Charleston, W.Va.)
February 20, 2021: #20 Charleston 86 - Concord 65 (Athens, W.Va.)

OUT OF THE GATE
The Mountain Lions got off on the right foot Saturday in an 86-73 win over Davis & Elkins to extend their winning streak to three games. CU scored 55 points in the first half for its highest-scoring first half of the season while posting its second-highest scoring half of the season—Concord previously scored 56 points in the second halves against Wheeling and West Liberty earlier this month. Saturday's outburst comes after the Maroon and Gray only scored 63 combined points in the first halves of their two previous games at Wheeling and West Virginia Wesleyan. Senior guard Ethan Heller scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half as he now needs 22 points to reach 1,000 for his career. CU also shot 51.4 percent in the first half of Saturday's victory.

CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN
Heller will become the 41^st player in program history to join the 1,000-point club, and the third player under head coach Todd May to achieve the feat. The Thornville, Ohio native is also closing in on 250 career assists as he currently sits at 243. He would become one of nine players in program history with 1,000 points and 250 assists in a career. Graduate guard Lual Daniel Rahama is also closing in on 1,000 career points as he has 938—combined with his time at Virginia State where he scored 313 in three seasons. On Saturday, Rahama collected his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The last CU player with more than five double-doubles in a single season was Terry Hopewell during the 2015-16 season when he had 13. Jametrius Wade had nine double-doubles in 2015-16.

FOUL LINE TURNAROUND
After shooting 14-of-29 at the free throw line in a win over West Virginia Wesleyan, the Mountain Lions bounced back to shoot 90.9 percent (20-for-22) at the charity stripe versus Davis & Elkins. Saturday tied for the third-most makes at the foul line in a game this season, and it was the first time a CU team shot 90 percent or better from the free throw stripe with at least 20 makes since January 2020, also against Davis & Elkins. Sophomore forward Amare Smith was a perfect 8-of-8 on free throws as part of his 14 points. Junior guard JJ Harper was 5-for-6 at the foul line Saturday. Harper is 11^th in the MEC in foul shooting (78.2 percent). Smith has only missed three free throws this year, 29-for-32.

BOARD WAR
Concord dominated the rebounding totals against Davis & Elkins by outrebounding the Senators, 46-31. CU elevated its rebounding margin for the season to +8.2 which is top 15 in Division II. Paced by Rahama's 10 rebounds, the Mountain Lions held a +10 or better rebounding margin for the sixth time this winter. While Rahama leads the MEC in rebounding (9.6), senior forward Jevon Laidler is averaging 6.2 rebounds in his last seven games. Salem has a rebounding margin of +4.6 which ranks just outside the top 50 nationally. The Tigers have won the rebounding margin 10 times in 16 games this year, but Salem was outrebounded 49-22 in its last game against Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday.

SIMILAR STYLES
In preparing for Charleston and Salem, the Mountain Lions will see a near mirror image of the teams with head coach Brett Rector serving as an assistant coach at Charleston before taking over the Salem program two years ago. Rector was on the bench for some of the most efficient offenses that Charleston had to present both in the MEC and all of Division II. Salem's Tigers are shooting a respectable 44.5 percent from the field this season. Nearly 75 percent of the shots for Salem are from two-point distance as SU only shoots 33.3 percent from three-point range.

BUCKING THE TREND
Charleston has won five straight games over Concord, including all three matchups last season. CU dropped an 82-77 decision to the Golden Eagles in November. The Mountain Lions shot 46.4 percent for the game, but Charleston heated up for 49.2 percent from the floor. Rahama finished one point off his career high with 26 points. Smith was an efficient 6-for-8 from the field in scoring 15 points. Fifth-year senior forward Da'Vion Moore grabbed a season-best nine rebounds in the defeat. Rahama is averaging 18.2 points per game in four career contests versus UC. Laidler was 5-for-6 from the field in last year's MEC Tournament game. He threw in seven points and eight rebounds in last year's game at the Carter Center.

TRYING TO STOP THE OTHER
Saturday marked the sixth time in the last eight games that Concord has shot 44 percent or better from the field. CU finished the day making 44.6 percent of its shots after the hot first half. Charleston has the second best field-goal percentage in the MEC this season as it enters the week making 49.9 percent of its shots. On the flip side, Concord has the best field-goal defense in the conference (41.4). The Mountain Lions have topped 80 points in 24 of their last 27 games, dating back to last season. CU is averaging 83 points per game. Thanks in part to its methodical, efficient pace, Charleston is the only team in the MEC allowing less than 75 points points per game (71.6).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4- Concord was outrebounded by four, 38-34, by Charleston in November.

12- Three-pointers needed by Heller to crack the top 10 in program history. He's currently sitting at 162 triples.

16- Three-pointers made by Concord in a 93-76 win over Salem in December 2018—the last time the teams played.

SALEM AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 8-8
Home Record: 5-3
Away Record: 2-5
Neutral Record: 1-0

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Salem has played five games against MEC foes, going 3-2 with a sweep against Glenville State. The Tigers are holding opponents to 73.7 points per game this season, and 29.6 percent from three-point range. Stan Smith is averaging 20 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from three-point distance. Rodney Smith chips in 10.6 points per game.

CHARLESTON AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 11-5
MEC Record: 8-2
Home Record: 5-1
Away Record: 6-3
Neutral Record: 0-1

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
After a 4-5 start to the season, Charleston has ripped off seven straight wins. Eddie Colbert and Tyler Eberhart are both averaging 13 points and seven rebounds per contest. Keith Williams adds 12 points per game for the Golden Eagles. Colbert had a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) versus Concord in November. Keaton Turner was instrumental with 12 points off the bench. UC is 5-1 at home this season with its only loss coming to nationally-ranked West Liberty December 7.