WHEELING, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team—fresh off a 76-65 win in the MEC Tournament First Round over Alderson Broaddus Wednesday—prepares to face the top-seed and nationally-ranked Hilltoppers of West Liberty 6:00 p.m. Friday in the MEC Quarterfinals at WesBanco Arena.
LIVE COVERAGE
The Mountain East Conference will provide live statistics throughout the tournament. WVMetroNews will have live streaming video of the game.m
Live Stats
Live Video
SERIES HISTORY: West Liberty leads 41-24
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
February 11, 2023: #12 West Liberty 127 - Concord 79 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
January 4, 2023: #9 West Liberty 113 - Concord 97 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 12, 2022: #4 West Liberty 106 - Concord 87 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 5, 2022: #8 West Liberty 85 - Concord 67 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
March 5, 2021: #19 West Liberty 102 - Concord 68 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 15-14
MEC Record: 10-12
Home Record: 7-5
Away Record: 7-8
Neutral Record: 1-1
NOT DONE YET
The Mountain Lions advanced to the quarterfinal round on the strength on a career night from graduate guard
Lual Daniel Rahama who scored 29 points and collected his 12
th double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Rahama finished game shooting 13-for-20 from the floor. Senior guard
Ethan Heller was instrumental particularly in the first half of Wednesday's win as he scored nine of his 11 points before the intermission. Sophomore forward
Amare Smith hit two of the three three-pointers for CU on Wednesday. Concord owned a 46-41 rebounding margin in the game which was led by Rahama, but fifth-year senior forward
Da'Vion Moore had a season-best nine rebounds while junior guard
JJ Harper had a career-high eight boards while pitching in 11 points, missing his first career double-double by two rebounds.
LOCK DOWN D
Concord ended up shooting 46.4 percent for the game after making 54.1 percent of its shots in the second half. But until the offense started firing up, the Mountain Lions leaned on their defense throughout the game as it held Alderson Broaddus to 34.8 percent. It marked the fourth time this season that CU held an opponent under 35 percent shooting. Additionally, the Mountain Lions limited AB to 28 percent from three-point range—just the third time a Concord defense has held the opposition to under 30 percent from beyond the arc since the calendar flipped to 2023. Concord is 9-4 this season when holding teams to under 35 percent from three-point range.
RACK ATTACK
With Concord only making three three-pointers and tallying just nine points at the foul line, the Maroon and Gray leaned heavily on its ability to get to the basket versus AB. Included in Wednesday's win was four dunks—two each by Harper and Rahama—as part the 48 points that CU scored in the paint. Concord shot 53 percent in the lane against the Battlers. And the Mountain Lions have had success this season against West Liberty around the rim. In a 113-97 loss to West Liberty in January, the Mountain Lions finished with a season-best 56 points in the paint, and even in the 127-79 defeat at WLU February 11, Concord posted 50 points in the paint. In the January meeting, Concord shot 65 percent in the painted area.
GET A GOOD ONE
Paced by the performance at the rim, Concord shot 54.5 percent from the field versus West Liberty in January as seven players scored in double figures—a season high. Senior forward
Jevon Laidler posted a season-best 20 points. Heller chipped in 18 points while Rahama had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Smith netted 11 points while Harper, Moore and junior guard
Jordan Wooden all finished with 10 points. Though West Liberty shoots 49.1 percent from the floor and scores 101.1 points per game, the Hilltoppers do give up 48.3 percent shooting to the opposition. In three of the last six matchups, the Mountain Lions have been able to shoot 45 percent or betters versus WLU.
CARRY OVER
After Wednesday's performance on the defensive end, Concord attempts to replicate the intensity against a West Liberty team that is second in scoring offense in Division II, first in assists (22.9), first in three-pointers made per game (12.7) and 20
th in field-goal offense. In both meetings this season, WLU has shot better than 55 percent versus CU. The last time Concord defeated West Liberty was January 2021, 91-83, at the Carter Center as the Maroon and Gray held the Hilltoppers to 44 percent shooting and outrebounded WLU, 33-26. In two meetings this season, Concord has either outboarded West Liberty or finished tied. At home, CU was dominant on the glass, 42-27. And just three weeks ago, the rebounds finished even, 41-41. The Mountain Lions' rebounding margin of +5.3 is 28
th nationally while WLU has a +0.5 rebounding margin.
WE MEET AGAIN
Dating back to the 2016 MEC Tournament, Concord and West Liberty square off for the fifth time in the conference postseason. No two teams have matched up more at the MEC Tournament in the last eight years that CU and the Hilltoppers. The Mountain Lions toppled WLU in the 2016 MEC Semifinals in a double overtime instant classic. West Liberty clipped Concord 88-84 in the 2018 MEC Semifinals. And Friday marks the third time in the last four years that the two sides meet in the MEC Quarterfinals. In 2021, West Liberty won 102-68. Heller had 12 points in the game. And in 2020, Heller scored 17 points in a 100-85 defeat. CU did shoot 52.7 percent in the 2020 meeting.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4- Rebounds needed by Rahama to keep his double-double average for the season intact.
25- With Rahama's 29-point outburst, Concord has had at least one player score 25 points in an MEC Tournament game in each of the last six years.
100- Games played for Heller with Friday's action.
WEST LIBERTY AT A GLANCE
Overall RecordL 25-3
MEC Record: 20-2
Home Record: 14-0
Away Record: 10-2
Neutral Record: 1-1
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
West Liberty is very well-balanced with five averaging at least 10 points. Reigning two-time MEC Player of the Year Bryce Butler leads the conference in scoring at 22.5 points per game. All-MEC Second Team performers Christian Montague (12.4) and Malik McKinney (12.3) both average better than 12 points per game. Steve Cannady (11.1) and Ben Sarson (10.9) round out the double-figure scorers. WLU comes up with 11 steals per game and shoots 73 percent at the foul line. The Hilltoppers made 36 three-pointers versus Concord in two games this season.
