The Concord Men's Basketball team now numbers five true freshmen in its regular rotation. The growing pains have been apparent in the Mountain Lions' 1-9 start to the 2009-10 season.
But, in Thursday's WVIAC contest at Salem International, Concord got a glimpse of how future might look.
Freshmen Damien Tunstalle and Rick Alderman each scored 17 points, combining for 14 during a game-breaking 15-2 run in the second half, as CU rallied for 67-55 victory at the Cecil Underwood Armory in Salem, WV.
Concord snapped a six-game losing streak and improved to 1-5 in the WVIAC. Salem International, looking to rebuild under first-year head coach Randy Unger, dropped to 0-12, 0-6.
The Tigers bolted out to a quick 6-0 lead, but Concord would come back to forge a 12-12 tie. After that, there were five ties and eight lead changes before CU took a 30-29 lead into halftime.
The contest remained close after the break, with three more ties and four more lead changes after a jumper by SIU's Demetrick Walker put the Tigers ahead 38-37 with 13:07 remaining in regulation.
Then the Concord freshmen struck.
On the Mountain Lions' next possession, newcomer Gentry Shrewsbury made two free throws to put CU ahead 39-38. Three possessions later, Tunstalle drained a three-pointer from the left corner, assisted by Alderman, for a 42-38 lead.
Then came a jumper from Alderman, another three-pointer from the left corner by Tunstalle, two Alderman free throws, and a Tunstalle jumper (off another Alderman assist).
Then, CU senior Rustin Jessee stole the ball from Walker and fired the ball to Tunstalle, whose breakaway dunk put the Mountain Lions ahead 53-40 and caused Unger to spend the Tigers' last timeout with 8:09 remaining.
Concord would take its biggest lead at 63-44 with 3:58, after a jumper from freshman Kortea Johnson in his Concord debut.
The Mountain Lions shot .500 (12-24) from the field in the second half, while Salem International was 10-34 (.294).
Tunstalle shot 7-14 from the field and 2-4 from three-point range. Alderman shot 6-10 and augmented his scoring with eight rebounds, three steals and three assists. All 11 available Concord players saw action. Walker led SIU with 16 points.
The doubleheader begins at 4:00 pm EST. It will be broadcast on Classic Rock 102 The River (WMTD 102.3 FM) and webcast at www.theriver102.com, beginning with the “Mountain Lion Preview” show at 3:30 pm. Streaming video will begin at tip-off at www.concord.edu/mltv.
