ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team exploded in the second half for 50 points as it got past Charleston, 82-78, Saturday afternoon in a Mountain East Conference game at the Carter Center.
Down 38-32 at halftime, the Mountain Lions (4-3, 2-0 MEC) slowly chipped away at the margin before a layup from junior forward
Anfernee Hanna tied the game at 44-44. UC (4-3, 1-1 MEC) responded by opening up a 49-46 lead.
But, the three-point lead prompted Concord to go on a 10-0 run over the next 3:30 of the game. Up 56-49, Concord watched the Golden Eagles go on their own run by scoring 10 of the next 12 points, gaining a 59-58 edge with 9:21 remaining.
Charleston opened up a 65-60 lead, and still led 71-66 with 4:26 remaining. A three-pointer by sophomore forward
Kraig Gilbert on the next CU possession was followed by a layup from freshman guard
Micah Young to square the game at 71-71. However, the mini run by Concord was quelled as UC answered with four straight points. UC lead 75-71 with 2:30 left.
Another Gilbert triple 23 seconds later cut the margin to one point. Both teams went silent over the next minute. A free throw by sophomore guard
Cole Lambert knotted the game again, 75-75. And after Lambert missed the second foul shot, junior forward
Boubacar Djigo grabbed the miss and was fouled. He made one free throw with 53 seconds left.
On the ensuing Charleston possession, Concord forced a miss and after a scramble for the rebound sophomore guard
Josiah Rickards finally corralled the miss.
Down the stretch, Young buried six straight free throws in the final 26 seconds to close out the game.
The Mountain Lions endured a tough first half, only shooting 25.6 percent. But a 12-for-13 showing at the foul line kept Concord in the contest.
Concord heated up to shoot 60.7 percent in the second half, including going 5-for-6 from three-point range after the intermission—that came after CU was 0-for-11 from three-point distance in the first half.
Djigo recorded a double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds. Spurred by his clutch free throws, Young netted a career-high 17 points, going 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. Gilbert connected on all three of his second-half triple attempts as he scored 16 points.
Hanna threw in 13 points.
Concord finished the game 23-for-28 (82.1 percent) from the free-throw line.
CU welcomes Frostburg State for the final home game of the calendar year 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Carter Center.
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