ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team shot 64 percent and made 10 three-pointers in a 103-85 win over Bluefield State Monday night at the Carter Center in a non-conference rivalry tilt.
Concord (13-11) outscored BSU (9-13) 35-19 over the final 9:46 of the game as it pulled away from the Big Blues.
After leading for nearly 17 minutes of the first half, CU had to withstand a 13-4 run from Bluefield State to open the second half as the Big Blues took a 53-50 lead at the 15:29 mark. From there the game went back-and-forth. Holding a 68-66 edge, the Mountain Lions broke off an 18-4 spurt that took the lead to 86-70 with 5:40 remaining.
Graduate guard
Lual Daniel Rahama scored half of the 18 points, including a personal 7-0 run to cap the spurt. Bluefield State only got as close as 13 points down over the final 5:40 of the contest.
The Mountain Lions gained a 7-6 edge at the 16:43 mark and led by as much as 13 points, 29-16, in the first half. Included in the early scoring was a rim-rocking dunk from freshman forward
Ayden Ince to give CU a 27-16 lead at the 9:30 mark.
Concord maintained a 46-40 advantage at halftime.
Behind the high marksmanship from the Mountain Lions, six different players scored in double figures. Rahama flirted with a triple-double as he went for 23 points, nine rebound and six assists. Senior forward
Jevon Laidler recorded his first career double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard
JJ Harper scored all 15 of his points in the second half.
Fifth-year senior forward
Da'Vion Moore just missed his own double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard
Ethan Heller (13 points) and sophomore forward
Amare Smith (11) rounded out the double-digit scorers.
Along with the best shooting percentage in three seasons, CU held a one-sided 51-26 rebounding margin.
Concord needed just 14 attempts to make 10 three-pointers (71.4 percent). Laidler and Rahama made both of their attempts while Heller finished 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
The Mountain Lions jump back into Mountain East Conference action 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against West Virginia Wesleyan.
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