Box Score Charleston, W.Va. – The buzz in the Mountain East Conference pressroom was the anticipation of Wheeling Jesuit's quarterfinal round game against Concord University.  Both teams entered the 2015 Mountain East Conference Tournament on a spiral upward and the matchup was the only one in the quarterfinal round that featured two 20-win teams.
 
A brief look at the statistics served as a preview of where this game would be decided.  Entering the game, Wheeling Jesuit and Concord were evenly matched in almost every statistical category.  The only outlier was Concord's ability to hit the three-pointers versus Wheeling Jesuit's ability to defend it.  Concord entered today's matchup second in the conference in three-point percentage fueled by the strong play of its guards.  The Cardinals were 10^th in the conference in defending its opponents' three-point attempts.
 
Jesuit went out to a 9-4 lead at the first media timeout.  The Cardinals would lead by no more than eight points in the first half.
 
The first half was sloppy for both teams, with each squad trying to handle nerves and acclimate to the open Civic Center environment.  Concord was 0-6 from beyond the arc before hitting a pair of three-pointers inside of three minutes left to play.  The second three-point shot, by Concord's Rob Reed, put Concord ahead 31-29 with 2:40 left to play.  The Cardinals battled back in the final minute with a pair of Justin Fritts free throws to even things up.
 
Jesuit did a solid job on defense.  Concord finished the first half only 2 of 9 from beyond the arc and 13 of 34 from the field.  Jesuit hit 46% of its shots from the field in the first 20 minutes of play, but hit only 4 of 10 from the free throw line.
 
Freshman forward Haywood Highsmith led the Cardinals in the first half with 9 points and 7 rebounds. 
 
The half ended in a 33-33 tie.
 
The first six minutes of the second half featured a back and forth affair with the lead changing multiple times. 
 
Concord's Rob Reed hit a 3-pointer to break the deadlock at 49-46.  WJU's Matt Stewart answered with a three-pointer of his own, tying it at 49-49. 
 
Over the next five minutes of play, Concord would win the battle for the ball and hit a pair of three-pointers to pull out to a 56-51 lead with 9:15 left.
 
WJU's Eric Siefert would hit a three-pointer to pull the Cardinals within two points at 56-54, but Concord's Reed would hit a three-pointer the next trip down the court to put the Mountain Lions back up by five 59-54. 
 
Justin Fritts hit a clutch three-pointer to tie the game 61-61 with 6:07 left to play.  Two foul shots by both Highsmith and freshman guard Pat Moseh put the Cardinals back on top by four points, 65-61 with 5:08 left. 
 
Jesuit built a 7-point lead down the stretch, but Concord's Aaron Miller completed a four-point play after being fouled by on a made three-pointer by junior guard Eric Siefert to pull the Mountain Lions within three points, 69-66, at the 3:15 mark.  After a Jesuit miss, Concord's Reed hit a 12-foot jumper to move Concord within one point, 69-68,on the next trip down the court.
 
Sophomore forward Kyle Ritz was fouled with 1:38 left to play on Jesuit's next possession.  Ritz hit both shots to put Jesuit up by three points.  On the next Concord possession, the Mountain Lions missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game. 
 
Jesuit maintained possession, but Eric Siefert's shot missed the mark. Concord took possession with :28 left to play. 
 
On the inbounds, Justin Fritts fouled Concord's Rob Reed on a three-point shot that missed.  Reed hit only two of the three foul shots and Concord trailed 71-70.  On the inbounds, Concord fouled Fritts to put him on the line.  Fritts hit both foul shots to put Jesuit up 73-70. 
 
Jesuit immediately fouled Mike Boyd on the inbounds. Boyd missed the foul shots, but the rebound caromed out to midcourt and Concord retained possession and called timeout with 2.2 seconds left.  Concord's forward, Jametrius Wade, missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer.  Final score:  Wheeling Jesuit 73 Concord 70. 
 
Four Wheeling Jesuit starters broke double-digits in the victory. Highsmith had a double-double with 19 points and 14 assists to lead the Cardinals in scoring.  Fritts had 14 points, two rebounds, and two assists.  Stewart was impressive off the bench with 13 points, one rebound, and one assist.  Finally, Siefert had 10 points, two rebounds, and two assists.
 
Wheeling Jesuit outshot the Mountain Lions 43% to 41% from the field.  Concord hit only 6 of 17 from beyond the arc.  Wheeling Jesuit outrebounded Concord 42 to 36.
 
"It is a big win for us.  We beat a very good team today.  They defend exceptionally well and we knew it would be a hard fought contest.  We fought and our kids did an unbelievable job of playing a physical brand of basketball today," stated Head Coach Danny Sancomb.
 
The victory improves the overall record of Jesuit Men's Basketball to 21-9.   The win pits Wheeling Jesuit against Fairmont State in the semifinal round of the MEC Basketball Tournament tomorrow night at 8:15pm.