WHEELING, W.Va. (Feb. 15) – A last-second shot fell short to allow Concord to escape with a 74-73 win over the Cardinals Monday night inside the McDonough Center.
 
The loss drops the Wheeling University men's basketball team to 2-8 this season, while the Mountain Lions improve to 6-5 overall.
 
Senior guard Jordan Reid (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) led the Cards with 21 points, six rebounds and two steals. Guards Jarett Haines (Bronx, N.Y./New Rochelle) and Jay Gentry (Milwaukee, Wisc./Brown Deer) each finished with 16 points, while sophomore John Korte (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Wheeling held its only lead of the entire evening on a Reid layup in the first minute that were the first points of the game. Concord answered back with a trey which kick started a 25-7 run which gave the Lions a 25-9 lead with 11 minutes left in the first half.
 
The Cardinals quietly erased the deficit and drew all the way back to within five, 31-26, with four minutes to play until halftime. Concord eventually got its lead back to nine, before a Haines three-point shot in the final minute made the score 37-31 at the half.
 
The second half saw both teams go on runs. Wheeling closed the gap to 42-38 two minutes into the period, but the Mountain Lions rebuilt their lead to 50-40 by the 16-minute mark.
 
A three by Korte once again drew the Cards within four at 52-48, before a 10-2 spurt by Concord pushed the lead back to 62-52 with 10:12 left in the game.
 
Concord led 74-64 with 3:34 remaining in the game and appeared to be on its way to an easy victory in the Friendly City. The Cardinals went on to score nine-straight points, capped off by a basket-and-one by Haines, to make the score 74-73 with 1:10 to play in the contest.
 
Wheeling had two chances in the final minute to take the lead, but were unable to come up with a bucket. Concord produced a turnover and a missed three on its final two possessions. The Cardinals had the ball out of a timeout with 4.4 seconds left in the game, but a final attempt by Reid at the elbow didn't fall, allowing the Mountain Lions to escape with the narrow win.  
 
The Cardinals shot 26 of 62 (42 percent) for the game, including 15 of 29 (52 percent) in the second half alone. Concord shot 26 of 57 (46 percent) on the evening.
 
Ethan Heller and Malik Johnson each scored 20 points to lead the Mountain Lions. David Mulumba had 15 points and 14 rebounds, but converted five three pointers to help Concord with the game.
 
The Cardinals will host Frostburg State on Wednesday, February 17 inside the McDonough Center at 7:30 p.m.