Concord Shocks Nationally-Ranked Indiana (Pa.) in Season Opener

INDIANA, Pa. – The Concord University men's basketball team picked up an upset of nationally-ranked, fourth-rated Indiana (Pa.) Friday night inside Kovalchick Areana, 61-57.

The Mountain Lions (1-0) withstood a tough-shooting first half as it trailed IUP (0-1) at halftime, 24-22.

Out of the locker room, Concord was able to take a 34-31 on a layup from junior forward Amare Smith.

After IUP clawed back to grab a 41-40 lead—finishing off a three-point play at the 11:41 mark—senior guard Jordan Wooden knocked in a three-pointer to re-establish a 43-41 edge on the next possession. The triple kickstarted an extended 14-4 run over the next three minutes.

Smith scored six of his 16 points during the run as Concord went up a game-high nine points, 54-45, with 8:28 remaining.

The Crimson Hawks trimmed the lead to 54-50, but Wooden hit on another triple to run the advantage back to 57-50 with 6:33 left.

But, the Mountain Lions had to dig in as they were held to two points over the next 4:37 of the game. Sophomore forward Rene Diop broke the drought with a transition dunk at the 1:56 mark.

Indiana (Pa.) hit a three-pointer on the next possession to get within two points. Down the stretch, Concord denied IUP an opportunity to tie or take the lead twice. On the second stop, sophomore guard Kollin Tolbert rebounded a missed three-pointer and connected on two free throws to seal the win with 12 seconds left.

Concord fell behind 15-8 with 7:46 left in the first half, but Wooden scored five of the next seven points to get Concord within 18-15 at the 4:45 mark before trailing by just two at halftime.

Wooden went for 18 points on an efficient 7-for-10 from the floor. Smith scored 13 of his 16 points after halftime. Diop just missed a double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.

After shooting 26 percent in the first half, CU heated up to 50 percent (13-for-26) in the second half. The Mountain Lions stymied IUP to 26.8 percent shooting for the game.

The Maroon and Gray outrebounded the Crimson Hawks 53-48.

Concord plays Pitt-Johnstown 5:30 p.m. Saturday at IUP's Kovalchick Arena.