Concord Goes for Season Sweeps of Bluefield State, Notre Dame

Concord Stats - Bluefield State Stats - Notre Dame Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team looks to extend its win streak past three games when it takes on Mercer County rival Bluefield State 7:30 p.m. Monday in a non-conference contest before resuming Mountain East Conference play 7:30 p.m. Wednesday against Notre Dame in a pair of road games.

LIVE COVERAGE
Both the Bluefield State and Notre Dame Sports Information Department will have live statistics and live video of the games. 

Live Stats
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SERIES HISTORY vs. Bluefield State: Concord leads 68-37
SERIES HISTORY vs. Notre Dame: Concord leads 11-10

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS BLUEFIELD STATE
November 15, 2023: Concord 94 - Bluefield State 91 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 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.)
November 16, 2021: Concord 92 - Bluefield State 87 (Athens, W.Va.)

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS NOTRE DAME
December 2, 2023: Concord 93 - Notre Dame 83 (OT) (Athens, W.Va.)
January 25, 2023: Notre Dame 84 - Concord 75 (South Euclid, Ohio)
December 3, 2022: Concord 85 - Notre Dame 80 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 26, 2022: Concord 80 - Notre Dame 66 (Athens, W.Va.)
December 4, 2021: Notre Dame 63 - Notre Dame 61 (South Euclid, Ohio)


PASS IT AROUND
In Saturday's 84-74 victory at Frostburg State, Concord recorded a season-high 18 assists as it assisted on 18 of its 32 made field goals. The high volume of assists led to the Mountain Lions shooting 47.8 percent from the floor. The previous season high set January 13 at home versus Davis & Elkins when CU had 15 assists. Sophomore guard Kollin Tolbert matched his career best with five assists. Junior guard Corey Boston notched three assists off the bench to go with 10 points. Three other players had two assists versus the Bobcats. The last time Concord had 18 or more assists in a game was the regular-season finale two years ago when CU had 21 assists at Glenville State.

THE TRENDS CONTINUE
For the fourth time in the last seven games, the Maroon and Gray shot 45 percent or better from the field in their win over Frostburg State. And once again, the stellar shooting was spearheaded by CU's ability to get into the paint where it scored 44 of its 84 points. Saturday was the 12^th time in 2023-24 that Concord has recorded 40 or more points in the paint. Against Frostburg State, CU shot 66.7 percent (22-for-33) in the paint. In a 94-91 win over Bluefield State in November, the Mountain Lions recorded 52 paint points, shooting 53 percent in the lane. And versus Notre Dame, Concord also scored 52 points in the paint. Another key factor in the win at Frostburg State was CU's 46-28 rebounding margin. For Division II's top rebounding team, the Mountain Lions are grabbing 45.2 rebounds per game and outrebounding teams by more than seven boards per contest.

PLAYING ABOVE THE RIM
On Saturday, CU tied its season high with nine blocks at Frostburg State. Senior guard JJ Harper equaled his career high with three blocks while sophomore forward Rene Diop had his 10^th multi-block game of the season, including his fourth straight, with two blocks versus the Bobcats. Diop leads the MEC in blocks per game (2.3). Concord's 88 blocks this season already rank 15^th in program history for a single season. CU's 5.2 blocks per game leads the MEC. Earlier in the season, the Mountain Lions had five blocks versus Bluefield State and added six more in a home win over Notre Dame. BSU averages 4.0 blocks per game while Notre Dame is third in the MEC in blocks per game with 4.6.

AROUND THE RIM
Against Bluefield State's stifling, 40-minute full court pressure, the Mountain Lions have found ways to solve that pressure and get easy points. The aforementioned 52 points in the paint aided the win in November. CU rang in 10 three-pointers in a 103-85 win over Bluefield State at the Carter Center last season, but still managed to post 48 paint points in the victory. And in scoring an 88-77 win at BSU last season, the Maroon and Gray netted 48 more points in the paint. While Concord has been efficient in scoring around the basket, defensively the Mountain Lions have been just as stellar. Concord held a 47-34 rebounding margin versus Bluefield State earlier this season. Harper tied his career high with nine boards. Fifth-year senior forward Jevon Laidler collected eight rebounds. In fact, Laidler has grabbed eight or more rebounds in three straight games versus Bluefield State, including a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double on the road last season.

KEEP IT GOING
Concord heads into Monday night having won 10 straight games over Bluefield State dating back to the 2017-18 season. CU has an overall series advantage of 68-37. Though the Mountain Lions carry a lengthy winning streak in the rivalry, it hasn't come without some late drama. In the three-point win earlier this year, Harper blocked a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer to preserve the win. Last season at Bluefield State, Concord overcame a slow start and scored 60 second-half points to win 88-77. And in February 2022, the Maroon and Gray needed two free throws with less than 10 seconds left and a defensive stand to secure an 89-88 victory. Senior guard Jordan Wooden is averaging 13.8 points per game in four career contests versus Bluefield State. Junior forward Amare Smith led CU in scoring in November with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

WORKING EXTRA
The only overtime game of the season thus far for the Mountain Lions came at home in December against Notre Dame where CU prevailed, 93-83. Concord erased a six-point deficit in the second half. Sophomore forward Ayden Ince hit a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining to only see NDC make its own triple to send the game to the extra session. Laidler had a career day with a career-high 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He added 11 rebounds for his third career double-double while dishing out five assists. Diop registered a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Concord netted 52 points in the paint while Notre Dame hit on 11 three-pointers. And the Mountain Lions snared 58 rebounds to NDC's 41.

REVERSE THE TREND
Concord will be seeking to pick up a win at Notre Dame for the first time since 2016-17 season when it travels to northeast Ohio Wednesday night. The road team in the all-time series has had a difficult winning as the last road win in the series was by Notre Dame during the 2018-19 campain. The winning streak for the home team in the on-campus meetings is up to nine games—the teams met in the 2020 MEC Tournament won by CU. In an 84-75 loss at NDC last season, Smith scored 12 points in 14 minutes while Wooden added 11 points. The Mountain Lions nearly ended its losing streak at Murphy Gymnasium two years ago, but lost 63-61.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
7- With a win Monday night, the Mountain Lions would match their road win total from last year.

9- Number of times that CU has outrebounded by at least 10 boards this winter.

53.3- Shooting percentage for Concord in the second half of last year's win at Bluefield State.

BLUEFIELD STATE AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 7-15
CIAA Record: 4-8
Home Record: 6-4
Away Record: 1-11

SCOUTING THE BIG BLUES
Bluefield State ended a seven-game losing streak with a 77-73 win over Bowie State Saturday at home. Jordan Hinds is averaging 19.7 points per game for BSU, and went for 26 points at Concord in November. Hinds and Jaylen Bernard, who scores 9.5 points per game, are the only two Bluefield State players to start all 22 games. The Big Blues get outrebounded by nearly eight rebounds per game on average. BSU forces 18 turnovers per game that turns into 8.5 steals per contest.

NOTRE DAME AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 10-9
MEC Record: 5-8
Home Record: 3-4
Away Record: 6-5
Neutral Record: 1-0

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Even though Murphy Gymnasium plays into a homecourt advantage, the Falcons have a losing record at home this season. Devin Haid has scored 20 or more points in back-to-back games and is now ninth in the MEC in scoring (14.2). Andre Harris (12.2), RJ Ogom (10.6) and Gbolahan Adio (10.2) also score in the double figures for the well-balanced NDC offense. Haid had 20 points and 10 rebounds at the Carter Center in December. Harris added 13 points and eight rebounds.