CALIFORNIA, Pa. – The Concord University men's basketball team dropped a 93-55 decision to Charleston in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night at the Convocation Center on the campus of California (Pa.).
Trailing 11-9 less than six minutes into the game—after a three-pointer by sophomore guard
Kollin Tolbert—Concord (22-8) was unable to stop a 16-1 Charleston (28-4) run over the next five minutes as the Golden Eagles went up 27-10.
The 17-point deficit was the closest the Mountain Lions would get for the remainder of the first half as they faced a 26-point margin at the intermission, 48-22.
After shooting less than 35 percent in the first half, CU did rebound to shoot 43.3 percent in the second half. However, the Mountain Lions were unable to close the gap on Charleston.
Four Concord players finished in double figures, led by fifth-year senior forward
Jevon Laidler's 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He added seven rebounds and a pair of blocks in his final game in the Maroon and Gray.
Junior forward
Amare Smith netted 14 points off the bench while Tolbert and senior guard
JJ Harper each posted 10 points in the defeat.
The 22 wins that the Mountain Lions finished the campaign with were the most since the 2015-16 squad. And this winter marked the 11
th 20-win campaign in the 102-year history of CU men's basketball.
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