Freshman center Rick Alderman played a valuable supporting role Thursday night in Concord’s 67-55 win at Salem International, with 17 points and eight rebounds.
Saturday, the rookie was the lead actor in the Mountain Lions’ WVIAC matchup with Ohio Valley.
Alderman inundated the Fighting Scots with 36 points and nine rebounds, helping power CU to a 96-88 victory at the Carter Center.
The win was Concord’s second straight, and their first at home this season.
Alderman shot an impressive 13-17 (.765) from the field, augmenting his field goals with a 10-12 showing from the free-throw line. He scored 13 of the Mountain Lions’ last 17 points in the first half, then eight of the first 11 in the second half in a game in which Concord never trailed.
Cory Willard supplemented Alderman’s inside game with 5-10 shooting from three-point range. The sophomore finished with 21 points. Freshman Kortea Johnson, playing in just his second game for CU, was in the starting lineup and contributed 15 points and five assists.
The Mountain Lions opened early leads of 9-0 and 14-4 but led by just six points, 44-38, at halftime. But Alderman’s outburst to open the second half – combined with a pair of three-pointers by Willard – helped push the lead to 58-44 with 15:11 to go. The Fighting Scots then hit five of their next eight shots to pull within 62-58 with 11:33 left.
Alderman answered again, scoring the game’s next five points to extend the Concord lead to 67-58 with 9:53 remaining. The Mountain Lions would lead by as much as 14 points before a barrage of Ohio Valley three-point shots in the last minute trimmed the final margin to eight points.
Concord’s next game will be at Mercer County rival Bluefield State on Monday, January 18. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm EST, or approximately 20 minutes after the end of the CU-BSC women’s game, which starts at 5:30.
Both games of the doubleheader will be webcast at www.theriver102.com, beginning with the “Mountain Lion Preview Show” at 5:00 pm. Due to a scheduling conflict, there will be no radio broadcast.