Concord Travels to West Virginia State in MEC Opener

Concord Stats - West Virginia State Stats - Live Audio - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - After more than a week off from action, the Concord University men's basketball team returns to the court for the first Mountain East Conference game of the season when CU travels to West Virginia State 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

LIVE COVERAGE
The West Virginia State Sports Information Department will provide live statistics and live video of the game. Additionally, radio coverage of the game can be heard in the Kanawha Valley on 107.3 The Beat or at the link below. 

Live Audio
Live Stats
Live Video

SERIES HISTORY: Concord leads 51-41

Last Five Meetings vs. West Virginia State
March 7, 2025: Concord 92 - West Virginia State 84 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
February 26, 2025: West Virginia State 112 - Concord 111 (3OT) (Institute, W.Va.)
November 26, 2024: Concord 90 - West Virginia State 78 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 28, 2024: Concord 90 - West Virginia State 83 (Athens, W.Va.)
November 21, 2023: Concord 73 - West Virginia State 71 (Institute, W.Va.)

Concord at a Glance
Overall Record: 2-3
MEC Record: 0-0
Home Record: 2-1
Away Record: 0-1
Neutral Record: 0-1
Streak: L1

West Virginia State at a Glance
Overall Record: 3-3
MEC Record: 0-1
Home Record: 3-0
Away Record: 0-2
Neutral Record: 0-1
Streak: W1
Last Five: 2-3

TALE OF THE TAPE: Concord vs. West Virginia State

Concord	Statistical Category	WVSU
2	Wins	3
69.8	Points Per Game	82.5
73.2	Points Allowed Per Game	87.5
40.4	Rebounds Per Game	38.8
9.6	Assists Per Game	11.7
5.2	Blocks Per Game	5.0
4.0	Steals Per Game	5.8
41.2	Field-Goal Percentage	44.8
29.4	Three-Point Percentage	35.9
68.5	Free-Throw Percentage	69.5

Concord Leaders
Points Per Game: Kraig Gilbert (18.0), Boubacar Djigo (13.6), Anfernee Hanna (11.4)
Rebounds Per Game: Boubacar Djigo (15.4), Kraig Gilbert (6.0), Anfernee Hanna (3.2)
Assists Per Game: Cole Lambert (2.8), Micah Young (1.6)
Blocks Per Game: Boubacar Djigo (1.8), Kraig Gilbert (1.8)
Steals Per Game: Kraig Gilbert (0.8), Josiah Rickards (0.8)
Field-Goal Leader: Boubacar Djigo (63.0)
Three-Pointers Made: Kraig Gilbert (13)
Free-Throw Percentage: Anfernee Hanna (76.0)

West Virginia State Leaders
Points Per Game: Ishmael Smith (16.8), Trey Harris (10.5), Hassan Belkhaddar (10.2)
Rebounds Per Game: Hassan Belkhaddar (7.3), Aymeric Toussaint (5.8), Jaylen Subject (5.3)
Assists Per Game: Ishmael Smith (3.2), Andrew Shull (2.5)
Blocks Per Game: Aymeric Toussaint (1.3), Hassan Belkhaddar (1.0), Jaylen Subject (1.0)
Steals Per Game: Trey Harris (1.3), Camren Wilkes (1.2)
Field-Goal Leader: Ishmael Smith (55.6)
Three-Pointers Made: Hassan Belkhaddar (11)
Free-Throw Percentage: Ishmael Smith (75.0)

BO KNOWS REBOUNDS
Junior forward Boubacar Djigo is the reigning MEC Player of the Week due in part to his first career 20-20 game in CU's game versus Virginia Union last Monday. Djigo scored a career-high 24 points, on 11-for-15 shooting, to go with 20 rebounds—two shy of his career high in rebounds which was set last year at West Virginia State. Djigo became the second player in program history to record a 20-20 contest, joining Jametrius Wade who also had 24 points and 20 rebounds at West Virginia State in January 2015. The Cleveland, Ohio native also recorded the 11^th 20-20 game in the history of the MEC. Heading into Wednesday's contest, Djigo is leading the nation in rebounds per game (15.4). He has at least 11 rebounds in every game this season. Djigo's 4.0 offensive rebounds per game are tied for 22^nd in Division II.

BIG MAN SHOOTING
Not only are Djigo (13.6) and sophomore forward Kraig Gilbert (18.0) leading the Mountain Lions in scoring, the duo is also the best shooters for Concord this season. Djigo is shooting 63 percent from the floor which is fourth in the conference. Gilbert is right behind in fifth as he has made 59.3 percent of his shots in 2025-26. Gilbert has extended his shooting success to beyond the arc. The Grove City, Ohio native leads the MEC in three-point shooting (52 percent/13-for-25). His 13 three-pointers are tied for third most in the conference. He has made at least two three-pointers in all five games this season, and Gilbert is 5-for-8 from three-point range in his last two games. Overall, Gilbert is 14-for-20 from the floor in his last two contests.

SETTLING INTO ROLES
Sophomore guard Cole Lambert has started all five games for Concord at point guard. After just five assists in the first three games of the season, the Pineville, West Virginia native has dished out nine assists in the last two games, including a career-best five in a win over California (Pa.) November 22. Lambert has played 144 minutes thus far this season which comes a season after he only played 38 minutes across 14 games in 2024-25. Against Virginia Union, Lambert saw action for a career-high 35 minutes. Freshman guard Micah Young tied his career high with 22 minutes versus Virginia Union as he dished out three assists and grabbed two rebounds.

SIT DOWN AND GUARD
One of the top defenses in the MEC meets one of the best offenses in the conference Wednesday night. The Mountain Lions are first in the conference in scoring defense (73.2) while CU ranks fifth in the league in field-goal defense (43.4). The Maroon and Gray has also limited the three-point shot this season as they have only allowed 26 three-pointers, tied for second fewest in the MEC. On the flip side, West Virginia State is fifth in the conference in scoring (82.5) and sixth in field-goal offense (44.8). West Virginia State has made the third-most three-pointers in the conference (47) while shooting an efficient 36.9 percent from three-point distance. CU has limited opponents to 13 attempts per game from three-point range. The Yellow Jackets shoot 27 three-pointers per contest.

BOARD BATTLE
Concord enters Wednesday's game with an even rebounding margin for the season which is fifth in the MEC. West Virginia State is getting outrebounded by 6.5 boards per game which is ninth in the conference. Though the Mountain Lions have only outrebounded two teams this season, Bluefield State and California (Pa.), CU is 35-10 since the start of the 2023-24 season when they outrebound the opponent. Djigo is the MEC leader in rebounding, but Gilbert has supplemented the work on the boards by averaging 6.0 per game, 11^th in the MEC. In three games last season, Concord outrebounded the Yellow Jackets by 27 combined rebounds, including a 69-53 advantage in a triple overtime game in February. Hassan Belkhaddar is WVU's leading rebounder at 7.3 per game.  

BUCKLE UP
Eight of the last nine matchups between Concord and West Virginia have been decided by eight points or less. Of those eight games, three have gone to overtime. CU is 5-4 in its last nine game versus West Virginia State. In February's game at WVSU, the Yellow Jackets hit a buzzer beater to escape with a 112-111 win in triple overtime. Former CU standout Corey Boston played 53 minutes and had 35 points. Senior forward Ken Sallee scored 21 points while sophomore guard Brendan Hoffman netted 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting in 43 minutes off the bench. Djigo added 17 points to go with his 22 rebounds. Concord got revenge just over a week later with a 92-84 win in the MEC Quarterfinals. Sophomore guard Josiah Rickards led six players in double figures with 19 points. Gilbert tallied a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Hoffman (14) and Djigo (10) both scored in double figures off the bench.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
18- Combined blocks between Djigo (nine) and Gilbert (nine) are the most in the MEC.

22- Djigo's rebounding total at West Virginia State last year which is a single-game program record.

33- Combined ties (18) and lead changes (15) in last year's triple overtime game at West Virginia State.

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
Aymeric Toussaint is the only returner to the West Virginia State roster that played last season. He averages 9.5 points per game. The leading scorer for WVSU is junior college transfer Ishmael Smith who pours in 16.8 points per game. Trey Smith (10.5) and Hassan Belkhaddar (10.2) round out the double-figure scorers for the Yellow Jackets. Eight players score at least 6.7 points per game. WVSU stopped a three-game losing streak with a 65-60 win over Bluefield State Saturday. The 87.5 points per game that WVSU gives up is second most in the MEC.