FROSTBURG, Md. – The Concord University men's basketball team lost 86-82 Wednesday night in a Mountain East Conference game at Frostburg State's Bobcat Arena.
Down by as many as 15 points in the first half, CU (3-5, 2-2 MEC) bridged an 11-0 run over both halves to force a Frostburg State (2-7, 2-3 MEC) timeout just 90 seconds into the second half. Back-to-back three-pointers from freshman forward
Kraig Gilbert and senior forward
Amare Smith got the deficit to 44-40 at the 18:30 mark.
The spurt continued for Concord as Smith nabbed a steal near half court and took the loose ball into for a dunk with 15:14 remaining to give the Mountain Lions their first lead of the game, 50-48.
But, FSU responded with an 11-2 run to regain a 59-52 advantage with 12:50 left.
From there, Concord was forced to chase the lead as it got within 61-60 on a tip in from Gilbert with 10:44 remaining. Once again, Frostburg State expanded the lead back to nine points and still led 81-74 with 50 seconds left.
A three-pointer from Smith and a three-point play by senior guard
Corey Boston reduced the deficit to 83-80 with 37 seconds remaining. After the Bobcats went 1-for-2 at the foul line, Boston responded quickly with a layup to get within 84-82.
Frostburg State, though, made two free throws on its next trip to the charity stripe. On the ensuing CU possession, the Mountain Lions could not respond in the four-point defeat.
Five minutes into the contest, the game was tied at 8-8, before the Bobcats rattled off a 10-0 run.
Gilbert continued his stellar play with a second straight double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds as he shot 7-for-10 from the floor. He tied his career high with five blocks.
Boston played strong at the end of either half as he finished with 19 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Junior guard
Kollin Tolbert netted 17 points to go with a team-best five assists. Smith tallied 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Concord shot 61.3 percent in the second half on its way to shooting 50 percent (29-for-58) in the game. CU outshot the Bobcats (50-45.1), made more three-pointers (6-4), made the same number of free throws (18) and outrebounded FSU (34-30), but Frostburg State outscored Concord 18-5 in points off turnovers.
The Mountain Lions welcome nationally-ranked, eighth-rated Fairmont State to the Carter Center 4:00 p.m. Sunday.
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