Bobcats fall by 17 to Concord, 76-59

ATHENS, W.Va.– Daunte Gardner notched career-highs in points and rebounds in Wednesdays loss inside the Carter Center in Athens, W.Va. The West Virginia Wesleyan (1-14, 0-9) men’s basketball fell by a score of 76-59 to Concord (6-8, 4-5).
 
Leaders for WVWC
Garnder registered 15 points on 6-12 shooting; Gardner also hauled nine rebounds with seven on the offensive end. Jayden Hibbitt tied for a game-high 17 points. Braeden McGrew dished out five assists.
 
Leaders for Concord
The Mountain Lions had five players eclipse double-digit points, with Ethan Heller leading the charge with 17 points on five made threes. Heller also distributed six assists. Lual Rahama had a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
Inside the First Half
The Mountain Lions came out firing, starting the game on a 10-0 run before Zach Seese nailed a triple off the Tommie Pope pass. Hibbitt would open up his scoring efforts on the next possession, nailing a jumper off the Gardner assist. The Bobcats would pull within four after Gardner converted a driving layup, and Hibbitt made the front end of a pair of free throws with 12:22 remaining in the half.
 
WVWC would take a one-point lead off an Anthony Craven Jr. layup with 4:10 remaining making the score 24-23. However, the Mountain Lions would close the half on a 10-0 scoring run.
 
Inside the Second Half
Craven Jr. swished a three-pointer with 17:12 left in the half. The redshirt-freshman came down the following possession and finished a tough layup while being fouled. Craven Jr. made the free throw to trim the Mountain Lion lead to single digits. A Hibbitt corner jumper would cap off a 9-1 run with 15:44 left.
 
Concord would extend the lead to 15 points before Gardner made a layup with 9:59 to play. The ‘Cats would get to within single digits two more times before the home team would put the game out of reach.
 
Up Next
The ‘Cats are back at the Rock on Saturday as they welcome the Pioneers of Glenville State. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.