Concord Looks for Ninth Consecutive Win in Road Contest at Wheeling

Concord Stats - Wheeling Stats - Live Stats - Live Video - Complete Game Notes

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University men's basketball team returns to the road when it faces Wheeling 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a Mountain East Conference game.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Wheeling University Sports Information Department will have live statistics and live video of the game. 

Live Stats
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SERIES HISTORY: Wheeling leads 34-24

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS WHEELING
January 18, 2025: Concord 105 - Wheeling 76 (Athens, W.Va.)
February 21, 2024: Concord 98 - Wheeling 70 (Athens, W.Va.)
January 20, 2024: Concord 94 - Wheeling 88 (Wheeling, W.Va.)
February 8, 2023: Concord 101 - Wheeling 98 (OT) (Athens, W.Va.)
January 7, 2023: Concord 81 - Wheeling 76 (Wheeling, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE  
Overall Record: 15-7
MEC Record: 12-4
Home Record: 8-2
Record: 7-5

RUNNING HOT
Concord won its eighth straight game with an 81-66 victory over Davis & Elkins Saturday. It marks the second straight season that CU has won eight or more games in a row after the Mountain Lions pieced together a 10-game winning streak last winter. Against the Senators, CU notched one of its best defensive games of the season. Concord limited D&E to 35.6 percent shooting—the third-lowest shooting percentage of the year for a Mountain Lion opponent and the second-lowest percentage for Davis & Elkins this winter. Concord improved to 10-1 this year when it holds the opposition under 80 points. Concord's winning streak of eight games is tied for the sixth longest active streak in Division II. Individually, junior guard Kollin Tolbert is averaging 25.5 points per game in the last eight games, four points better than his season average.

1-2 PUNCH
Senior guard Corey Boston has also been impressive during Concord's winning streak. The Lafayette, Alabama native is averaging 16.6 points per game over the last eight contests, a point better than his season average. After making just 14 three-pointers in the first 14 games of the season, Boston has canned 11 three-pointers in the last five games while shooting 44 percent from three-point range. And with his recent run, Boston has moved into the top 10 in the MEC in scoring this season at 15.7 points per game. Tolbert continues to lead the conference in scoring (21.7), making Boston and Tolbert the only teammates in the MEC that are in the top 10 in scoring. Additionally, Tolbert (51.7 percent) and Boston (45.9 percent) are in the top 10 of the conference in shooting percentage. Boston (22) and Tolbert (20) combined for 42 of CU's 81 points Saturday. CU is 14-3 this year when both Boston and Tolbert both finish in double figures.

BLOCK PARTY
Concord notched six blocks against Davis & Elkins with four coming from freshman forward Kraig Gilbert, one off his career best set against Wheeling earlier in the season. Junior forward Rene Diop collected a block for the 22^nd straight game as he continues to lead the MEC with 2.5 blocks per game and ranks eighth in Division II. Led by Diop (54 blocks) and Gilbert (36), Concord has tallied 114 blocks this season which is the ninth most in program history for a single season. CU's 5.1 blocks per game ranks seventh in Division II. Earlier this season, the Mountain Lions collected 10 blocks versus Wheeling, one of two games this season with double-digit blocks. Gilbert led the way with five blocks while Diop and sophomore forward Boubacar Djigo had two blocks each.

OVERWHELMING OFFENSE
The Mountain Lions scored a regulation season-high 105 points in a 29-point win over Wheeling January 18. Concord shot its second-high percentage of the season as it knocked in 56.9 percent (37-for-65) of its shots against the Cardinals. The Maroon and Gray also used a season-best 16 three-pointers to overwhelm WU as they hit 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from beyond the arc. Tolbert and junior forward Ken Sallee went a combined 10-for-14 from three-point range as they made five three-pointers each. Tolbert scored a team-best 20 points. Sallee came off the bench to net a career-best 19 points in just 18 minutes. Gilbert was 3-of-4 from three-point distance in the January meeting. The 16 made three-pointers were the most for a CU team since November 2021 versus Pitt-Johnstown. Boston added a double-double of 15 points and a career-best 11 assists in the victory.

CLOSE CALLS
Concord's last two wins over Wheeling have been by 28 and 29 points, respectively—both at home. However, the Mountain Lions have had a tougher time winning at WU. CU, though, has won its last two trips inside the McDonough Center and three of the last five road games at Wheeling. Last year, Concord outscored the Cardinals 16-8 over the final five minutes of the game to collect a 94-88 win. Tolbert went for a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Diop also scored 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Overall, CU shot 50.7 percent from the floor in last year's road win and held Wheeling to 43.4 percent shooting. Two years ago, the Maroon and Gray escaped with an 81-76 victory as they held off a late WU charge. The Mountain Lions have won eight of their last nine games overall against Wheeling.

ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
Two of the best offensive rebounding teams in the MEC match up Wednesday. Wheeling ranks second in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (13.1) while Concord is third (12.8). The Cardinals are 20^th in Division II in offensive rebounding while the Mountain Lions are just outside the top 25, checking in at 28^th. Wheeling tore down 15 offensive rebounds in Athens in January. CU only grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the first game, but outscored Wheeling 14-11 in second-chance points. Three players in Wednesday's game average at least two offensive rebounds per game, Diop for Concord (2.2) and Wheeling's Alex Smith (2.3) and Tee Harris (2.1). The Mountain Lions are 10-4 this season when they limit the opposition to fewer than 15 offensive rebounds.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
15- Concord is 15-1 during the month of February in the last two seasons.

30.6- Shooting percentage that CU held Davis & Elkins to in the second half of Saturday's game—the third-lowest shooting percentage for the Concord defense in any half this season.

31- Points needed by Tolbert to reach 1,000 in his career.

WHEELING AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 10-14
MEC Record: 5-11
Home Record: 7-6
Road Record: 2-7
Neutral Record: 1-1

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
After winning four straight games, the Cardinals have lost back-to-back games against Fairmont State and Frostburg State. Sean Ealy is fourth in the MEC in scoring (18.0). Before being held to nine points at Frostburg State, Ealy was averaging 23.3 points per game in six contests prior. He scored 20 points against CU in January. William Gabbert, the older brother of Concord's John Gabbert, scores 10.6 points per game. And Tee Harris (10.2) rounds out the double-figures scorers. Seven of Wheeling's 10 wins have come at home.