Concord Puts Win Streak to Test at Davis & Elkins

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ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team puts its eight-game winning streak to the test when it visits Davis & Elkins in a Mountain East Conference game at the McDonnell Center 4:00 p.m. Saturday.

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The Davis & Elkins Sports Information Department will have live statistics and live video for the game. 

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SERIES HISTORY: Concord leads 52-29

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS DAVIS & ELKINS
January 13, 2024: Concord 85 - Davis & Elkins (Athens, W.Va.)
February 18, 2023: Davis & Elkins 84 - Concord 83 (Elkins, W.Va.)
January 14, 2023: Concord 86 - Davis & Elkins 73 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 19, 2022: Concord 88 - Davis & Elkins 78 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 15, 2022: Davis & Elkins 80 - Concord 65 (Elkins, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 18-4
MEC Record: 11-4
Home Record: 9-2
Away Record: 8-2
Neutral Record: 1-0

KEEP PUSHING
Concord shot 55.2 percent (32-for-58) on Wednesday night as it improved to 18-4 with an 83-63 win over West Virginia Wesleyan at home. CU matched the longest winning streak in program history since the 1997-98 team won eight consecutive games near the beginning of that season. The eight-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest winning streak in the MEC this season behind the nine games that West Virginia State won from January 10 to February 7. The Maroon and Gray is pushing to win 20 games in a season for the first time since the 2018-19 season, and that particular Concord team did not win its 19^th game of the year until the regular-season finale March 2 at UVa.-Wise. However, CU is seeking its first win at Davis & Elkins since February 2020.

SHARING IS CARING
The Mountain Lions passed out a season-best 20 assists in Wednesday's win over West Virginia Wesleyan as they recorded their first 20-assist game in nearly two years. Sophomore guard Kollin Tolbert led the charge with 10 assists, becoming the first CU player with double-digit assists since Matt Weir in January 2022 versus Notre Dame. Before Wednesday night, Tolbert's career high in assists was five—done twice this season. Senior guard JJ Harper tossed in four assists to go with his 23 points, the second-highest point total of the season for the Gotha, Florida native. Senior guard Jordan Wooden pitched in three assists for his 11^th game of the season with at least three assists. Tolbert's 10-assist game came with him only committing two turnovers as well.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Also in Wednesday's victory, Concord received double-doubles from two different players as sophomore forward Rene Diop came up with a career-high tying 17 points to go with 11 rebounds. Fifth-year senior forward Jevon Laidler collected his second double-double in the last three games with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The last time two CU players had double-doubles in the same game also involved Diop—last year versus West Virginia Wesleyan—when Daniel Rahama (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Diop (17 points, 11 rebounds) recorded double-doubles. With his recent surge in rebounding, Laidler has moved into eighth in the MEC in rebounding (6.2 per game), trailing Tolbert by 0.2 rebounds per game for the team ldzc. And Diop had his best career shooting game versus WVWC (8-for-9) as he set a new career high in made shots. Over his last three games, Diop is shooting 80.7 percent from the field (21-for-26).

MIRROR IMAGE
The numbers show that CU and Davis & Elkins are very similar. Davis & Elkins enters Saturday scoring 81.0 points per game while Concord is just behind at 80.8. Defensively, the Mountain Lions are allowing 75.0 points per game while D&E gives up 75.5 points per contest. Concord (45.7 percent) shoots one percentage point better than the Senators (44.7). From a defensive percentage standpoint, CU (40.9 percent) and Davis & Elkins (39.9 percent) are the top two teams in the MEC. One glaring difference between the teams though is the win-loss record in close games. The Mountain Lions are 6-0 in games decided by six points or less this winter. Meanwhile, Davis & Elkins is 3-7 in such games in 2023-24 after being 7-1 in games decided by two possessions last season.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Perhaps the top matchup to watch Saturday will be the point guard play of Tolbert and Davis & Elkins' Sam Rolle. Tolbert goes into the game ranked eighth in the MEC in scoring (14.2), seventh in rebounding (6.4) and fourth in free-throw percentage (85.0 percent). Prior to hosting D&E on January 13, Tolbert had scored in double figures in six of the first 10 games of the season as he entered the game scoring 11.9 points per game. Beginning with the Davis & Elkins contest in January, Tolbert is averaging 16.1 points per game since. Rolle, a senior, has solidified his status as one of the top players to come through the MEC in recent memory. Rolle is 156 points shy of 2,000 for his career and has already amassed 500 career assists, sitting at 538 which is third among active Division II players.

REVERSE THE TREND
Since D&E joined the MEC prior to the 2019-20 academic year, Concord has only been able to get one win at Davis & Elkins, a 66-61 win in February 2020. Despite having a double-digit second half lead, the Mountain Lions were unable to close out D&E on the road last season as the Senators picked up an 84-83 win. Laidler provided one of his five career double-doubles with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Harper and Diop both had 15 points while junior forward Amare Smith came off the bench with 11 points. Both teams shot 50 percent or better at Davis & Elkins last season. CU picked up an 85-73 home win over D&E earlier this season. Harper netted a season-best 25 points while Tolbert added 20. Concord shot 47.8 percent from the floor while holding the Senators to 34.9 percent.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
3.9- Combined blocks per game between Diop (2.1) and D&E's Clarens Pierre (1.8)—first and second in the MEC.

8- The home team has won the last eight games in the all-time series between Concord and Davis & Elkins.

13.2- Combined rebounding margin for Concord (8.1) and Davis & Elkins (5.1) this season—the rebounding margin in January was tied 46-46.

DAVIS & ELKINS AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 13-10
MEC Record: 8-7
Home Record: 7-3
Away Record: 5-6
Neutral Record: 1-1

SCOUTING THE SENATORS
Davis & Elkins overcame a 42-36 halftime deficit as it rallied for an 84-79 win on the road over Glenville State Wednesday night. In the January meeting between CU and the Senators, Rolle netted 22 points while the only other D&E player in double figures was Vadim Clanet. Clanet and Tristan Starks have both hit 43 three-pointers this season and are shooting 35 percent from three-point range. Clarens Pierre goes for 6.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.