Concord Loses Back-and-Forth Game at UC, 71-66 - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

The Concord University men's basketball team held its opponent to 71 points or less for the fourth time in six games, but was unable to pick up the conference road-win over the University of Charleston, falling 71-66 Thursday night at the Eddie King Gymnasium.

Concord (11-9, 7-9 WVIAC) and Charleston (15-5, 11-5 WVIAC) traded leads 17 times in a game that also featured eight ties. The largest lead by either team throughout the entire contest was Charleston's seven-point advantage with 17 seconds remaining in the second half.

Senior forward Damien Tunstalle made four three-pointers on his way to a 14-point, seven-rebound night. Tunstalle had a quiet first half before exploding for 11 points in the second half.

Sophomore guard Mike Boyd and sophomore forward Jordan Davis both scored 13 points with Davis also grabbing five rebounds.

Freshman forward Nick Moyer pulled down a season-best eight rebounds. Fellow freshman Cam Shannon chipped in nine points and a team-high four assists. Sophomore guard Thomas Brown led all CU reserves with eight points.

Scoring was at a premium in the first half with the game's first points not coming until Davis made a pair of free throws nearly four minutes into the game. Concord went on to open a 7-3 lead before a 4-0 run by UC tied the contest at 7-7 with 14:30 to play in the half.

The remainder of the first half was a slugfest that saw the lead change hands eight times until a successful free throw by Charleston's Fred Simpson sent the game into halftime tied at 30-30.

Davis was nearly automatic in the first half, totaling 11 points after going 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-5 from the foul line.

The second half was another nip-and-tuck battle. Neither team was able to score more than five straight points until Tunstalle knocked down consecutive three-pointers to put Concord on top 55-53 with 7:43 to play. However, the lead was short lived and The Mountain Lions quickly found themselves tied with the Golden Eagles once again at 60-60 at the 4:27 mark in the period.

A free throw by Moyer put Concord back up by one point, 61-60, but a tip-in by Simpson two minutes later gave Charleston a 62-61 lead that it would never relinquish. UC clung to a one-possession lead in the game's final moments until Terrell Lipkins hit a three-pointer to give Charleston a five-point lead that Concord was unable to overcome.

The Mountain Lions posted a 36-31 advantage in rebounds and were plus one in turnover margin. Concord shot 36.1 percent (22-for-61) from the field and 78.9 percent (15-for-19) from the free throw line.

Charleston shot 51 percent from the field (25-of-49) and 63.6 percent from the foul line (14-of-22). Both teams made seven three-pointers.

Charleston was led by Lipkins' game-high 25 points.

The Mountain Lions will remain on the road for Saturday's game at Shepherd. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.