Concord Matches Up with Davis & Elkins in Road Tilt

Concord Stats - Davis & Elkins Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team begins a two-game road trip when they face Davis & Elkins in a Mountain East Conference game inside the McDonell Center 4:00 p.m. Saturday.

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The Davis & Elkins Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics and live streaming video of the games. 

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SERIES HISTORY: Concord leads 54-29

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS DAVIS & ELKINS
March 8, 2024: Concord 82 - Davis & Elkins 74 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
February 17, 2024: Concord 94 - Davis & Elkins 80 (Elkins, W.Va.)
January 13, 2024: Concord 85 - Davis & Elkisn 73 (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.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 4-6
MEC Record: 3-3
Home Record: 3-1
Away Record: 1-5

FAIR SHARE
Five players notched double figures in the scoring column in Concord's 94-77 win over West Virginia Wesleyan—the 10^th straight win for CU over the Bobcats. No Mountain Lion had more than 15 points with junior guard Kollin Tolbert leading the way. Freshman forward Kraig Gilbert netted double digits for the sixth time in his young career as he finished with 14 points. With 12 points, senior forward Amare Smith has now scored in double figures in all 10 games this season. Junior forward Ken Sallee came off the bench with 11 points, and senior guard Corey Boston totaled 10 points. Concord also managed to pass out a season-best 16 assists on 30 made field goals. Tolbert and redshirt freshman guard Brendan Hoffman both had three assists, but 10 different players had at least one assists in the win. It led to the Mountain Lions shooting 50.8 percent from the floor Thursday night.

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS
For the fourth time this season, Concord scored 50 points in a half as it tallied 52 points in the second half of the win over West Virginia Wesleyan. All 50-point halves for the Maroon and Gray this year have come in the second half with previous instances against Bluefield State, West Virginia State and Frostburg State. The Mountain Lions shot a sizzling 60.7 percent in the second half (17-for-28) versus WVWC and also made 14-of-19 attempts at the foul line in the second half Thursday. CU holds a 383-382 scoring advantage in the first halves of games this year, but is +20 (459-439) in the second half this winter. Additionally, Concord has shot 45 percent or better in seven second-halves thus far this season.

DOWNTOWN DISPLAY
Along with spreading out the scoring versus West Virginia Wesleyan, seven different players accounted for at least one three-pointer. Concord finished the contest with 10 three-pointers in 22 attempts (45.5 percent). The 10 triples were the second most of the year for CU behind the 12 it made in a December home win over Point Park. Gilbert, Smith and freshman guard Josiah Rickards each made two three-pointers in the contest. Sophomore guard Georges Archer, redshirt freshman guard Sam Boothe, Sallee and Tolbert needed just seven attempts to combine for four three-pointers in the win. Thursday also marked the fourth time this year that CU has hit 40 percent or better from three-point range. The Mountain Lions rose to third in the MEC in three-point percentage (36.2) after the display against West Virginia Wesleyan.

TOUGH TO TAME
Concord picked up its first win at Davis & Elkins last season since February 2020 when the Mountain Lions won 66-61. Last year's 94-80 win was keyed by a 56-point second half as CU started the second 20 minutes on a 13-0 run after leading 38-34 at halftime. Tolbert scored 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Junior forward Rene Diop added a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Overall, the Maroon and Gray shot 56.5 percent from the floor and was an efficient 7-of-17 from three-point range (41.2 percent). Before the second-half eruption, CU endured 13 first-half lead changes. Two years ago, Concord let a double-digit, second-half lead slip away in an 84-83 loss to the Senators on the road.

SWEEP THE SENATORS
The Mountain Lions got their first season sweep over Davis & Elkins since the 2019-20 season with an 85-73 home win that was coupled with the road win. The teams also found each other in the MEC Tournament as CU downed the Senators, 82-74, in the quarterfinal round. In the three games last season versus the Senators, Tolbert averaged 19.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest, including a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds in the MEC Tournament. Tolbert also shot 54.8 percent (17-for-31). The double-double by Diop at Davis & Elkins last season powered him to an average of 11.3 points per game over three contests. Diop also poured in 15 points at D&E as a freshman two seasons ago. Smith is averaging 12.1 points per game in six career contests against D&E, including a career-best 28 points as a freshman in February 2022.

THE LINE DIFFERENCE
Both the three-point line and free-throw line could be significant factors in Saturday's game. Concord's aforementioned three-point percentage continues to rise and is among the best in the conference. Meanwhile, Davis & Elkins only shoots 32.2 percent from three-point distance this season. CU is making eight three-pointers per game this winter while D&E is only managing 6.4 three-pointers per game which is 11^th in the MEC. At the foul line, Concord is second in the MEC in free-throw percentage (77.4). And the Mountain Lions' 26.1 free throw attempts per game is second in the league. Meanwhile, Davis & Elkins is 10th in the MEC in free-throw shooting (67.9 percent) and 11^th in free throw attempts per game (17.2). Concord took a total of 62 free throws in three games versus D&E last season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10- Thursday marked the second time in Tolbert's career he went a perfect 10-for-10 at the foul line in a single game—the other instance was last year at Notre Dame.

34- Season-high bench points for Concord versus West Virginia Wesleyan.

48- Points in the paint for CU at Davis & Elkins last season.

DAVIS & ELKINS AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 5-8
MEC Record: 2-4
Home Record: 2-2
Away Record: 2-5
Neutral Record: 1-1

SCOUTING THE SENATORS
Davis & Elkins is trying to buck a four-game losing streak with the last two losses—against Point Park and Glenville State—coming by a combined nine points. All-MEC point guard Sam Rolle has not seen the court since December 11 when he only played two minutes versus Salem. Rolle is averaging 15.4 points and four assists in 11 games this season. Nicolas Silva is one of the most efficient players in the MEC as he averages 14.5 points on 53.2 percent shooting.