WHEELING, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team outscored Davis & Elkins 12-2 over a four-minute stretch late in the second half, leading to an 82-74 win over the Senators, in the Mountain East Conference Quarterfinals Friday afternoon at WesBanco Arena.
Trailing 63-60 with 7:34 remaining, a layup from sophomore guard
Kollin Tolbert on the next CU (22-6) possession got the Mountain Lions within one. After a Davis & Elkins (15-14) three-point miss, a transition lob dunk from senior guard
JJ Harper gave Concord its first lead since the first two minutes of the second half.
Four straight points from junior guard
Corey Boston bookended around a D&E bucket upped Concord's edge to 68-65. Four more points from Tolbert elevated the advantage to 72-65 with 2:32 remaining. Down the stretch of the game, the Senators only got as close as six points.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first half that featured 11 lead changes and seven ties.
However, it was Concord that finished the first half on an 8-2 run to gain a 42-39 lead at halftime.
The second half had six more lead changes and five ties as Davis & Elkins matched its largest lead of the game with a 59-54 lead at the 11:23 mark. A quick 5-1 spurt got the Mountain Lions to within 60-59, setting up the final seven minutes for the Maroon and Gray to outduel D&E.
Tolbert finished with his fifth double-double of the season by going for 20 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 16 of his 20 points after halftime as half of those came in an 8-for-8 showing from the foul line.
Fifth-year senior forward
Jevon Laidler did the bulk of his scoring in the first half as he netted 14 of his 18 points in the opening 20 minutes. Harper added 10 points to go with eight boards, and a career-high tying four blocks.
Boston chipped in nine points off the bench. Sophomore forward
Rene Diop just missed a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds.
CU held Davis & Elkins to 38.2 percent shooting, and outrebounded D&E 51-40. Concord was 43.9 percent from the field, but hit six of its final eight shots, starting with the Tolbert layup.
The Mountain Lions will play in the MEC Semifinals for the first time since the 2019 conference tournament when they face West Liberty 8:30 p.m. Saturday at WesBanco Arena.
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