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ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team renews its rivalry with Bluefield State for the 107
th time when the teams square off at Ned Shott Gymnasium in Bluefield, West Virginia 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night in a non-conference clash.
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The Bluefield State Sports Information Department will have live statistics and live streaming video of the game.Â
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SERIES HISTORY: Concord leads 67-39
LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS BLUEFIELD STATE
February 5, 2024: Concord 82- Bluefield State 72 (Bluefield, W.Va.)
November 15, 2023: Concord 94 - Bluefield State 91 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 13, 2023: Concord 103 - Bluefield State 85 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 15, 2022: Concord 88 - Bluefield State 77 (Bluefield, W.Va.)
February 14, 2022: Concord 89 - Bluefield State 88 (Bluefield, W.Va.)
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 0-2
Home Record: 0-0
Away Record: 0-2
NEW ROLES
After coming off the bench in 28 of 30 games last season, senior guard
Corey Boston has been vital in the starting lineup for the Mountain Lions in both games this year. The Lafayette, Alabama native tied his career high in scoring by netting 14 points at California (Pa.) Saturday night. Boston sank a new career-best three three-pointers. He leads the Mountain East Conference in steals per game (3.5), and through two games has scored 25 points. Boston only scored 20 or more points in a two-game stretch once last year. Meanwhile, sophomore guard
Georges Archer finished in double figures at Cal U as he made a career-high two three-pointers as part of his 10 points, just the second time he has netted double figures in his early career.
BENCH BRIGADE
Archer helped pace the Concord bench with half of the 20 points at Cal U as the Mountain Lions outscored the Vulcans' bench, 20-10. Freshman guard
Josiah Rickards provided 16 important minutes in a reserve role by scoring five points and grabbing four rebounds. Rickards has played double-digit minutes in each of his first two career games. And freshman guard
Cole Lambert scored his first career points with a second-half three-pointer. Over CU's last 32 games dating back to the start of last season, the Maroon and Gray bench has scored at least 20 points in 16 games. In two wins over BSU last season, Concord scored 20 and 22 points, but no player had more than eight points in either game off the bench.
SECOND CHANCES
Concord pulled down 16 offensive rebounds against California (Pa.), but only was able to convert those into 13 second-chance points. Traditionally, the Mountain Lions have not been a big offensive rebounding team. However, Concord grabbed more than 12 offensive rebounds per game last year, and averaged more than 14 offensive rebounds two years ago. CU has totaled 27 offensive rebounds in two games so far this season. Senior forward
Amare Smith has notched three offensive rebounds in each of the first two games of the year, and has more offensive than defense rebounds (6-2). Junior guard
Kollin Tolbert has four offensive rebounds so far this season. Concord's 13.5 offensive rebounds per game is fourth in the MEC.
KEEP IT GOING
CU has won 11 straight games over Bluefield State dating back to the 2017-18 season. Last year at home, Concord built a 16-point halftime lead before watching BSU come storming back, but Concord blocked a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer to hang on for a 94-91 win. At Bluefield State in February, the Mountain Lions rang in 10 three-pointers, including four from graduate guard
Jordan Wooden in an 82-72 win. Though Concord has won 11 straight in the series, CU's average margin of victory is only 8.3 points per game, and the Mountain Lions have won five games by five points or fewer. Included in that was a late defensive stop during the 2021-22 season in which Concord won 89-88 on the road.
HIGH PERCENTAGE
In seven of the last eight games versus Bluefield State, the Mountain Lions have shot 47 percent or better. Last year, CU shot 47.3 percent at home and hit on 47.5 percent of its shots at Bluefield State. In two games last year, Tolbert averaged 18.5 points per game while shooting 57.1 percent (12-for-21) from the floor and making 11-of-13 free throws. In his last four games against BSU, Smith is averaging 11 points per game while shooting 61.5 percent from the floor (16-for-26) and 4-for-8 from three-point range. Smith poured in 20 points in 20 minutes last year versus Bluefield State at the Carter Center. Wooden has scored in double figures in all five of his career games against the Big Blues, and is averaging 13.8 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting.
BOARD BATTLE
After being outrebounded by nearly seven rebounds per game last winter, Bluefield State has turned the tide and is outrebounding teams by 3.6 per game in its 2-1 start. Additionally, BSU is tied for fourth in Division II in rebounds per game (47.3). For Concord, the Mountain Lions won the rebounding battle in 24 of 30 games played last year, and has outrebounded both Virginia Union and Cal U to start this season. In the 10-point road win last season, junior forward
Rene Diop helped CU to a 39-33 rebounding edge as he scored 10 points and plucked down 10 rebounds. The Mountain Lions dominated the glass in Athens last season, owning a 47-34 rebounding advantage. Smith and junior forward
Ayden Ince each had six rebounds as a total of six players had at least four rebounds in the contest.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
11- Combined rebounds per game from the starting backcourt of Tolbert (6.5) and Boston (4.5).
13- CU was able to handle the Bluefield State full-court press on the road last season as it only committed 13 turnovers.
52- Paint points for the Mountain Lions in the 94-91 home win over BSU in 2023-24.
BLUEFIELD STATE AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 2-1
Home Record: 0-0
Away Record: 1-1
Neutral Record: 1-0
SCOUTING THE BIG BLUES
BSU is fourth in Division II in points per game (107.3) in its 2-1 start to the season. Individually, Jordan Hinds is ninth in country in scoring as he is pouring in 25.7 points per game. Rell Williams is adding 13.7 points per game and a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest. With the full-court pressure the Big Blues present, they are forcing 19 turnovers per game, but do allow teams to shoot 45.5 percent from the floor. Wednesday night will be the home opener for Bluefield State.
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