Final Stats
Postgame: Concord | West Liberty
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Third-seeded Concord and sixth-seeded Wheeling Jesuit went after each other like a pair of prize fighters hereFriday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Mountain East Conference Basketball Tournament at the Charleston Civic Center.
When the dust settled it was Wheeling which emerged with a thrilling 73-70 victory and earned the right to advance to Saturday's semifinal round where the Cardinals will face second-seeded Fairmont State at 8:15 p.m.The Falcons eliminated seventh-seeded Notre Dame in the day's first game, 71-57.
“This was a big win for us,” said WJU coach Dan Sancomb, whose team improved to 21-9. “We beat a very good basketball team. It was a gut check for us. We can get hot and shoot the ball very well and they can defend exceptionally well, so we knew it was going to be a struggle. Our guys, though, just really fought. They did a great job of bringing toughness which was needed to win a game like this.”
The loss dropped Concord to 20-9 and likely put an end to the Mountain Lions' season. Concord was ranked eighth in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Rankings.
“If you look at the last 16 games I think we were two of the hotter teams in the league,” said Concord coach Kent McBride. “Even though they drew a six seed I personally think they're the second or third-best team in this league.
“Our guys knew going in this was going to be a battle and it was going to be a game where every possession matters. No team was going to get away from the other. We also knew it was going to be a game of runs which it was. We made the last one, but time just ran out on us. Tough game, but congratulations to Jesuit.”
Neither team led by more than eight in the contest which featured 10 ties and six lead changes and the outcome literally wasn't decided until the final buzzer sounded.
After Wheeling's Justin Fritz hit a pair of free throws to put his team ahead 73-70 with 8.5 seconds left the Cardinals elected to foul the Mountain Lions near mid-court and put Mike Boyd on the line for a pair of free throws instead of risking a made 3-pointer by Concord with 5.9 seconds left in regulation.
“Concord has made 10 threes on us two different times this season and we didn't want to give them the chance to hit a game-tying one there,” said Sancomb.
Boyd, however, missed his first free throw and then intentionally missed the second which allowed Concord to tip the rebound out, control it and call timeout with 2.2 seconds left to play. Jametrius Wade, who finished with 19 points, took the inbounds pass for the Mountain Lions and got a good look at a potential game-tying three from about 22-feet out at the top of the key but his shot bounced off of the back iron of the rim as the final horn sounded.
“He got a good look, but coming into the game he was 2-of-15 on 3-pointers for the season so if we were going to give anyone a good look he's the guy we wanted to have it,” said Sancomb.
“I know my numbers don't say it, but I'm capable of making that shot,” said Wade. “I practice it every day.
“I knew when we inbounded it that they would probably be face-guarding Rob (Reed) and Aaron (Miller). I first looked to pass, but they were defending the passing lanes. I knew I only had two seconds so I took a dribble and shot it. I thought it was going in, but it was a little too long.”
The win was the 15th in the last 17 games for Wheeling. It also halted Concord's six-game winning streak.
Freshman forward Haywood Highsmith led the Cardinals with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
“My goal coming down here was to try to help my team win a Mountain East Conference championship,” said Highsmith, who got his fifth double-double performance of the season. “As a team we're playing well right now. We just want to make a run.”
Wheeling also got 14 points from Fritts, 13 from Matt Stewart 10 from Eric Seifert and eight points and 10 rebounds from Kyle Ritz.
Concord's Rob Reed led all scorers with 26 points. The Mountain Lions also got 13 points from Aaron Miller.