Concord Clipped by Wheeling

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University men's basketball team had a late rally stall out against Wheeling Wednesday night in a Mountain East Conference game as CU lost 77-71 at the Carter Center.
 
Trailing by nine points, 71-62, with 4:25 remaining in the contest, the Mountain Lions (13-12, 9-8 MEC) clipped off seven straight points in just over two minutes to pull with two points, 71-69, of Wheeling (16-8, 11-6 MEC).

The spurt started when freshman guard Micah Young connected on a pull-up, transition three-pointer. Concord forced a turnover by the Cardinals two possessions later that turned into a dunk by junior forward Boubacar Djigo. And two possessions after, a misfire by WU on a three-pointer resulted in another runout slam by the Mountain Lions, this time by junior forward Anfernee Hanna.

Both teams went empty for more than a minute before Wheeling broke the drought with 1:07 remaining. Djigo hit two foul shots on the ensuing possession, but on the next Wheeling trip the Cardinals got a shot to go late in the shot clock to restore a 75-71 edge.

Down four with 22 seconds left, CU could not get any closer.

Both teams clamped down on the defensive end in the first half as the first 20 minutes saw both sides shoot less than 40 percent from the field. Concord's only lead of the first half came at 3-2 when senior guard Savier McCall hit a three-point for CU's first bucket of the game.

Wheeling took a 35-28 lead in the final 90 seconds of the first half, but the Mountain Lions scored the final four points of the opening 20 minutes to trail by three at the break.

The Cardinals opened up a 43-35 lead at the 17:26 mark of the second half. However, Concord responded with an 11-2 run. Young scored four points during the run as four Mountain Lions contributed in the scoring column.

A layup by Young at the 14:19 mark gave CU its final lead of the game, 46-45.

Young exploded for 23 points in 29 minutes off the bench. Djigo recorded his 16^th double-double of the year with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Hanna finished in double figures, netting 11 points on 3-for-5 from the field and 4-for-5 at the foul line.

Junior forward Eldon Terry patrolled the paint with six rebounds (five defensive) and three blocks.

Concord travels to face nationally-ranked West Liberty 4:00 p.m. Sunday.