A Pair of Double-Doubles Lead Concord Past Ohio Valley, 71-60 - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Senior forward Damien Tunstalle and sophomore forward Jordan Davis both recorded double-doubles to lead the Concord University men's basketball team to a 71-60 victory over Ohio Valley University Saturday afternoon at the Carter Center.

The victory, Concord's third-straight win, improved the Mountain Lions' overall record to 14-9 and their West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record to 10-9. Ohio Valley fell to 3-23 overall and 2-18 in league play.

Tunstalle scored a team-high 16 points to go with 10 rebounds while Davis scored 14 points and grabbed a game-best 14 rebounds to secure his second consecutive double-double. Davis' rebound total matched a career-high while Tunstalle's scoring output marked the 11th time this year he has led CU in points.

Freshman guard Cam Shannon and senior guard Eric Bailey both added 12 points. Bailey connected on three three-pointers to tie Tunstalle for the team lead.

In addition to his eight points, sophomore guard Mike Boyd passed out six assists. Freshman forward Nick Moyer came away with three steals. Four other Concord players had two steals on the way to a team total of 13, the second most by the Maroon and Gray this year.

The Mountain Lions out rebounded Ohio Valley 44-38 and forced the Fighting Scots into 20 turnovers while committing only 13 of their own for a plus seven turnover margin. Concord dominated the paint, outscoring Ohio Valley 32-12 inside.

Ohio Valley went 4-for-7 from three-point range while Concord made just three of its first 12 field goal attempts to help the Fighting Scots jump out to a five-point, 19-14, lead through the opening 9:42 of the first half.

Concord quickly erased the deficit when Bailey scored seven consecutive points to put CU up 21-19, but Ohio Valley answered with 13-8 run of its own that was sparked by three more three-pointers to retake the lead, 32-28, with 58 seconds remaining in the opening period.

However, the turning point of the game for Concord came in the final moments of the half. Tunstalle scored on back-to-back possessions, first on a dunk and then with a three-pointer, to send CU into the half with the momentum and leading 33-32 despite OVU making seven three-pointers and Concord shooting just 29 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

Shannon quickly set the tone for the rest of the game by starting the second half with a ferocious dunk. From there it was all Concord as the Mountain Lions wasted little time opening up a 13-point lead, 54-41, through the first nine minutes of play in the period. Concord led by as many as 17 points en route to the 71-60 win.

Concord's lead did not slip below 10 points for the final 13 minutes of the game. After a poor shooting first half, Concord responded by hitting 45.2 percent (14-for-31) of its field goals in the final 20 minutes of play. The Mountain Lions also made 7-of-9 foul shots in the second half after making 11-of-18 free throws in the first period.

Tunstalle scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half, going 4-for-6 from the field overall and 2-for-4 from three-point range. Shannon chipped in nine points in the period as well.

Osvaldas Gaizauskas scored a game-high 19 points for Ohio Valley.

Concord will look to extend its winning streak to four games when it begins the final week of the regular season Monday night at home against West Virginia State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.