Concord Seeks Continued Success in Road Matchup at West Virginia Wesleyan

Concord Stats - West Virginia Wesleyan Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team looks to put a road loss at Fairmont State behind them when they continue their road trip at West Virginia Wesleyan 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a Mountain East Conference matchup.

LIVE COVERAGE
The West Virginia Wesleyan Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics and live video of Wednesday's contest. 

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SERIES HISTORY: Concord leads 37-36

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN
February 15, 2023: Concord 82 - West Virginia Wesleyan 60 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 11, 2023: Concord 78 - West Virginia Wesleyan 64 (Buckhannon, W.Va.)
February 16, 2022: Concord 88 - West Virginia Wesleyan 80 (Buckhannon, W.Va.)
January 12, 2022: Concord 76 - West Virginia Wesleyan 59 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 24, 2021: Concord 77 - West Virginia Wesleyan 66 (Buckhannon, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 7-2
MEC Record: 3-2
Home Record: 3-1
Away Record: 3-1
Neutral Record: 1-0

CAREER DAY
In the defeat at Fairmont State, senior guard Jordan Wooden had a career performance versus the Fighting Falcons. Recovering from illness, Wooden tossed in a career-high tying 23 points paced by five three-pointers which was a single-game career high for the Roanoke, Virginia native. Wooden tied his career high which was previously set at West Virginia Wesleyan in February 2022. He shot an efficient 8-for-11 from the floor and needed just seven attempts from three-point range to knock in five triples. Wooden's 23-point performance was just the fifth time this season that a CU player has dropped in 20 points, and it was just the fourth career 20-point performance for Wooden—his first since aforementioned game at Wesleyan.

WIDE VARIETY
Through nine games this season, the Mountain Lions have had six different players lead them in single-game scoring with no player doing it more than three times. Fifth-year senior guard Jevon Laidler has been the outright leader or tied for the team lead in scoring three times while senior guard JJ Harper and Wooden have tied or led CU in scoring twice. Additionally, Concord has had five different players lead in rebounding this season with sophomore forward Ayden Ince becoming the latest member with his first career double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds) versus Frostburg State on December 6. Ahead of the Wesleyan game, Concord has seven players averaging at least 6.9 points per game and five players grabbing more than 4.5 rebounds per contest. Only Charleston, Glenville State and West Liberty have seven players scoring seven or more points in the MEC besides CU, and no other team has five players grabbing 4.5 rebounds per contest.

FINDING THE RANGE
Spearheaded by Wooden's five three-pointers, Concord connected on a season-best 10 three-pointers at Fairmont State—the first time hitting double-digit three-pointers in the last 14 games.  CU made 10 three-pointers at home versus Bluefield State last February 13. Furthermore, the Maroon and Gray shot a season-best 38.5 percent from three-point distance at FSU. Just a career 31 percent shooter from beyond the arc, Wooden is now shooting 42.1 percent (16-for-38) from three-point range this season. Concord entered Friday's game at Fairmont State having made just 40 three-pointers in the previous eight games this season before the outburst. In two games last season versus West Virginia Wesleyan, the Mountain Lions connected on 18 combined three-pointers.

KEEP THE STREAK
Concord has won seven straight games over West Virginia Wesleyan heading into Wednesday night with the last loss coming at WVWC during the 2019-20 season. With the current winning streak, CU has taken a 37-36 edge in the all-time series. The Mountain Lions' average winning margin in those seven games is 13 points. In both wins last season versus the Bobcats, Concord was either tied or trailing at halftime. At WVWC, the Maroon and Gray came back from a 43-38 halftime hole, outscoring Wesleyan 40-21 in the second half to win 78-64. Harper netted 18 points in the road win while junior forward Amare Smith chipped in 16 points off the bench. At CU in February, Concord and WVWC was tied 30-30 at the intermission before the Mountain Lions erupted for 52 points in the second half in an 82-60 victory. Sophomore forward Rene Diop (17 points, 11 rebounds) had a double-double.

MOVE THE BALL
Over the last three games, Concord has dished out 39 assists, including tying its season high with 14 assists at Fairmont State. No player had more than three assists against the Fighting Falcons with junior guard Corey Boston and Harper leading the way. CU has only assisted on 38 percent of its shots this season, but that rate has ticked up recently with the Maroon and Gray assisting on 44 percent of its made shots over the last three games. Like scoring and rebounding, no Concord player has the clear lead in assists. Harper (2.7), sophomore guard Kollin Tolbert (2.3) and Wooden (2.2) all average at least two assists. West Virginia Wesleyan is allowing the opposition to assist on 58 percent of its made field goals.

GUARD THE ARC
While West Virginia Wesleyan only makes 8.2 three-pointers per game, the Bobcats are efficient from behind the arc making 38.1 percent of their three-point attempts. WVWC leads the MEC in three-point shooting, and individually Deiker Padrino paces the conference in three-point shooting (47.1). Padrino's 33 three-pointers are tied for second in the MEC. Alex Morhosseini has sunk 36 percent of his three-point attempts (27-for-75). As a team, Concord is the best defensive three-point team in the league as it surrenders 31.2 percent to opponents and 7.6 makes per game. The Maroon and Gray has only allowed 10 or more three-pointers three times in nine games. At home, WVWC made 12 triples versus Concord last year. But, the Mountain Lions limited the Bobcats to 2-for-15 at the Carter Center.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
8.5- Average rebounds for Laidler in two games versus West Virginia Wesleyan last year.

26- Percentage that Concord limited Wesleyan to in the second half of last season's road win.

38- Combined rebounding margin for CU in two wins versus WVWC in 2022-23—plus-18 at Wesleyan and plus-20 at home.

WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 1-11
MEC Reocrd: 0-5
Home Record: 0-4
Away Record: 0-6
Neutral Record: 1-1

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Padrino (16.1) and Mirhosseini (14.7) are fifth and tenth, respectively, in the MEC in scoring. Maxwell Harris, one of seven transfers for the Bobcats—along with Mirhosseini and Padrino—adds 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. WVWC scores 77 points per contest, but gives up 92.9 points per game. Four teams have scored 100 or more on the Bobcats this winter. Teams are outrebounding WVWC by 8.3 boards per contest. Wesleyan's lone win this year was in the season opener, 92-87, against Edinboro.