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18 mbb mec semis header
Sam Santilli
69
CU CU 17-13
83
Winner WJU WJU 25-5
CU CU
17-13
69
Final
83
WJU WJU
25-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
CU CU 41 28 69
WJU WJU 37 46 83

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Chris Myers

Cardinals Storm out of Half, Overpower Mt. Lions to Earn MEC Title Spot

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – After watching the Mt. Lions drain five 3-pointers for their first buckets, the Cardinals returned the favor in the early part of the second stanza. Trailing by four at half, Wheeling Jesuit stormed out of the second half on a 17-2 run and overpowered Concord, 83-69, in the Mountain East Conference Semifinals.
 
Only 17 seconds into the second 20 minutes, Brent Pegram, who his for a season-best 21 points, drained a triple and Drake Goddard followed suit to start the No. 2 seeded Cardinals (25-5) on its key run. Haywood Highsmith and Jeremiah Wilson took turns with the next four buckets as WJU pushed the new found lead to double figures 54-43 only 4:06 into the second. Concord (17-13) was able to only cut the difference to eight points with 14 minutes as WJU controlled the rest of the game with its defense.
 
"It was a hard-fought victory as it was what you expect in the (MEC) Semifinals where you have to earn it. It was a difficult beginning of the game as they started hot, but our will on the glass and our defense was the difference. In a league that is all about scoring, we are all about defense," said Cardinals head coach Danny Sancomb.
 
With the win, the Cardinals head to its first MEC Tournament Championship game on Sunday afternoon. WJU will have to defeat No. 5 seed University of Charleston, which upset top seed West Liberty by a 95-93 overtime score. Tip time is set for 3:30 p.m.
 
"It always nice to get to the championship, but we want to finish the job," pointed out the WJU coach.
 
MEC Player of the Year Highsmith produced his 27th double-double of the year with 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting to go with 13 rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block.
 
"There are a lot of seniors, but not many can say they are playing for a title as a senior and be able to get a championship as a team," stressed Highsmith.
 
It was Pegram, though, who started brightly on the night. The freshman point guard not only donned his first-year best 21 points on 7 of 14 from the floor with the pair of early second-half treys, four assists without a turnover, but his work guarding Concord's Tommy Bolte. The Mountain Lion hit for 51 points in Friday's Quarterfinal win over Fairmont State, but Pegram held him to 8 of 22 from the floor and three turnovers.
 
"We have the best player in the league (Highsmith), but we have a lot of really good players that a lot of people don't know about. In all my 21 years of coaching, Haywood consistently has rubbed off on the rest of the team as he is the best practice player I have ever been a part of," added Sancomb. "Brent is a tough, hard-nosed intelligent player. It was the game play for him to be on Tommy Bolte and Brent is a big time player."
 
"I took the job versus Bolte personally to make sure there would be no 50-point game," said Pegram.
 
Not to be forgotten, Preston Boswell converted 10 of 11 foul shots and led the Cardinals in scoring with 23 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds, swiped three balls and had two assists.
 
Wilson and Ryan Cooper were the third and fourth WJU players to have at least seven rebounds. As a team, the Cardinals dominated the glass by a 49-29 margin, including 20 on the offensive side. Wilson added seven points and Cooper four.
 
After a hot-shooting first half where it made seven 3-pointers and made 48-percent, Concord saw a dramatic slide in its second-half efficiency. Due to the WJU defense, the No. 6 seed made only 9 of 25 in the second 20 minutes.
 
Bolte did finish with his highest point total against WJU of three meetings of 28 points to lead Concord.

 
-GoCards-
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