Concord Faces Stiff Road Test Against Nationally-Ranked West Liberty

Concord Stats - West Liberty Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team wraps up a brief two-game road trip when it travels to face nationally-ranked, 10th-rated West Liberty 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a Mountain East Conference game at the ASRC.

LIVE COVERAGE
The West Liberty Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics and live streaming video. 

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SERIES HISTORY: West Liberty leads 45-24

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS WEST LIBERTY
March 9, 2024: #13 West Liberty 77 - Concord 71 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
February 24, 2024: #20 West Liberty 89 - Concord 76 (West Liberty, W.Va.)
January 17, 2024: #20 West Liberty 91 - Concord 79 (Athens, W.Va.)
March 3, 2023: #5 West Liberty 96 - Concord 72 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
February 11, 2023: #12 West Liberty 127 - Concord 79 (West Liberty, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 5-6
MEC Record: 4-3
Home Record: 3-1
Away Record: 2-5

COMEBACK CATS
CU rallied from a 12-point deficit at Davis & Elkins to record a 78-73 overtime win over the Senators Sunday afternoon. It was the largest margin overcome in a Concord win this season, and the largest deficit that the Mountain Lions have erased in an eventual win since coming back from down 14 at West Virginia State in November 2023 in a 73-71 victory. The Maroon and Gray was able to overcome a tough shooting day (40 percent) and getting outrebounded by the Senators (38-33). CU's 20-for-25 effort at the foul line was a key in the victory—the fifth time this season Concord has made at least 80 percent of its free throws. Senior guard Corey Boston was 10-of-10 at the charity stripe while senior forward Amare Smith was 5-for-6 on foul shots. Furthermore, Sunday's win tied head coach Todd May for third on the all-time wins list at Concord as he picked up his 125^th career win.

GOOD DAY FOR A GOOD DAY
Helped out by his 10-for-10 at the free-throw stripe, Boston tallied a career-best 23 points at Davis & Elkins to go with a career-high seven rebounds. Since returning from injury December 4, Boston is averaging 16.5 points per game in six contests. Freshman forward Kraig Gilbert netted 13 points to go with eight rebounds as he set a career high with three made three-pointers in the contest. At 10.3 points per game, the Grove City, Ohio native is third among MEC freshmen in scoring. And since a 1-for-10 start from three-point range in the first five games of the season, Gilbert has madea 12 three-pointers in his last 21 tries, including a 7-of-11 showing in the last three contests. Junior forward Ken Sallee came off the bench for eight crucial points at Davis & Elkins, including making two three-pointers which tied a career best.

STREAKS ON THE LINE
The foul line has been crucial for the Mountain Lions this season as they rank second in the MEC at 77.6 percent which is also 20^th in Division II. Individually, Boston is second in the MEC in free-throw percentage (89.2) while junior guard Kollin Tolbert is sixth (86.8) and Smith is eighth (82.2). Among qualified players, no other team besides CU has three players in the top 15 in foul shooting in the conference. Tolbert has made 24 consecutive foul shots dating back to December 4 versus Point Park. Meanwhile, Boston has made 17 straight free throws and has only missed four all season (33-for-37). Defensively, junior forward Rene Diop is seeking his 12^th straight game with at least one block. Diop's next block will be the 100^th of his career. He would be the fifth player in program history to accomplish the feat.

A FAMILIAR FACE
Concord goes up against an old friend Wednesday night in former Mountain Lion JJ Harper who is finishing his career at West Liberty. In two seasons at CU, Harper averaged 13.9 points per contest over 58 career games while notching 5.0 rebounds per game. He was a two-time All-MEC selection for the Mountain Lions, including making the All-MEC Second Team last winter. In 14 games for the Hilltoppers this season, Harper is averaging 15.9 points and 1.1 blocks per game. He ranks 10^th in the conference in scoring and is fifth in blocks. When Harper was with CU last season, he had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the MEC Tournament versus West Liberty. At WLU, Harper was held to three points and five rebounds.

POINTS APLENTY
Wednesday's game features two of the highest scoring teams not only in the MEC, but across Division II. West Liberty's 94.3 points per game are first in the MEC and sixth in Division II. Meanwhile, the Mountain Lions are third in the league in scoring per game at 86.1 points per game. Concord ranks 31^st in Division II in scoring. At its current pace, the Mountain Lions' 86.1 points per game would rank 10^th all-time in program history and be the highest scoring season since 2018-19. The matchup at West Liberty will feature five of the top 19 scorers in the MEC. WLU's Kyler D'Augustino is second in the MEC in scoring at 19.1 points per game. Tolbert is fifth at 17.8 points per game. Harper is 10^th (15.9) while Boston is just behind in 11^th at 15.5. Smith rounds out the group at 12.9 points per game.

HIT THE BOARDS
Along with the full-court press the Hilltoppers employ and the high volume of three-point attempts, one of the other trademarks of West Liberty's success for nearly two decades has been its aggressiveness on the boards, particularly the offensive end. WLU has averaged 13 or more offensive rebounds per game in eight of the last nine years. This year, the Hilltoppers are only averaging 11.3 offensive boards per contest which is seventh in the MEC. And West Liberty has the worst rebounding margin in the MEC (-6.4). Concord ranks third in the MEC in rebounding margin (+3.7). CU outrebounded West Liberty last year on the road, 40-33, as the effort was paced by 10 from Tolbert as part of his 20-point, 10-rebound game. Half of Tolbert's rebounds came on the offensive end where the Mountain Lions had 15 as a team.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
8- Season-low turnovers for Concord at D&E to prepare for the West Liberty press.

26- Career-high points for Diop at WLU last season on 9-for-10 shooting.

40- Rebounds for Concord at West Liberty, one of 23 times CU outrebounded the opposition last season.

WEST LIBERTY AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 12-2
MEC Record: 6-1
Home Record: 8-0
Away Record: 3-1
Neutral Record: 1-1

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
Dante Spadafora (11.1 points) and Finley Woodward (10.6 points) round out the double-figure scorers. West Liberty is second in the MEC in steals with 9.9 per game. The Hilltoppers are making 10.6 three-pointers which rank 14^th in Division II. Daniel Autrey (26) and Kameron Tinsley (25) lead the three-point parade, but seven players have made at least 10 three-pointers. WLU is coming off a 103-87 win over nationally-ranked Fairmont State Saturday.