CLAMPDOWN
Wheeling Jesuit's Defense Defeats Concord
2/17/2010 8:23:56 PM
Wheeling Jesuit's Men's Basketball team brought some solid defensive credentials into their visit to Concord Wednesday night.
The Cardinals had allowed their opponents to shoot .435 from the field -- the fourth-best mark in the WVIAC -- going into the matchup in Athens.
True to form, WJU relied on its "D" to tip the balance against CU.
The Cardinals held Concord scoreless for a crucial six-and-half-minute span in the second half, pulling away from a tie game to win 79-62 at the Carter Center.
A free throw from CU's Gentry Shrewsbury evened the game at 49-49 with 11:09 to play. But after that, WJU forced Concord to miss its next 11 shots, and CU didn't emerge from its Cardinal-induced cold spell until Kortea Johnson sank a jumper with 4:39 remaining. But by that time WJU had a 65-51 lead and was cruising to the victory.
The game started much better for Concord. The Mountain Lions made six of their first nine shots to go ahead 17-6 barely five minutes into the contest, forcing the Cardinals to take a timeout.
But that would be the high-water mark for the Mountain Lions.
A three-pointer from Andre Harris with :04 left in the half capped a 24-10 WJU run and put the Cardinals ahead 30-27 at the break.
Concord would forge the 48-48 tie in the second half, only to see WJU put the Mountain Lions' offense on lockdown.
Damien Tunstalle led Concord with 20 points. Cory Willard added 12 and Rick Alderman 10.
Obi Ukwuoma topped Wheeling Jesuit with 20 points and nine rebounds. Harris added 13 points and nine boards. Brenden Bazilio finished with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Ben Siefert chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.
Wheeling Jesuit shot .475 (28-59) from the field, while limiting Concord to .361 (22-61). The Cardinals also outrebounded Concord 48-33.
BOXSCORE: www.wviac.org/custompages/mbball/10mbkbHTML/cu217.htm
The Mountain Lions, now 5-17 and 4-13 in the WVIAC, visit West Virginia Wesleyan for a 7:00 pm EST tip-off tomorrow night, part of a doubleheader with the women's team.
Classic Rock 102 The River (102.3 FM WMTD will broadcast both games, beginning with the "Mountain Lion Preview Show" at 4:30 pm. The audio webcast will be available at www.theriver102.com.