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November 10, 2012

Jeff's Sports Corner: WVU tries to recover from rough stretch on gridiron

By Jeff Harvey Princeton Times

PRINCETON — I got to see the WVU defense on television last Saturday and to say I was stunned at how bad it was is an epic understatement. They allowed a 94-yard pass completion to tie the game against TCU, then got caught flat-footed in the second overtime as a tight end who had caught three passes all year caught the touchdown which, combined with the two-point conversion, won the game.

I don't know what else to say about WVU at this point. Unless the offense returns to earlier form, they are going to be hard-pressed to beat Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and I wouldn't be too sure about Iowa State. They are definitely out of BCS consideration and probably out of a New Year's Day bowl.

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There is happier news out of Athens as the Concord Mountain Lions clinched their fourth consecutive winning season by beating West Liberty 21-3. The story of this year's team has been the defense led by linebacker Jake Lilly and defensive backs Davon Marion and Nate Pollard, which has carried an offense which has had three different starting quarterbacks due to a career-ending injury suffered by Zach Grossi and has been revived somewhat by fellow senior Evin Dusold taking over the position.

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As for Concord basketball, the media day was canceled because of weather, so I'm offering this look at the teams. The Concord men are picked to finish 10th in the WVIAC according to the pre-season coaches' poll coming off of a 17-13, 13-10 season in head coach Kent McBride's first season. He is joined by new assistant  coach Todd May.

The 2012-13 Concord Mountain Lions features five returnees, five transfers and four freshmen.

Leading the returners is sophomore guard Mike Boyd, who started 28 of 29 games played a season ago. For the year, Boyd averaged 7.9 points, a team-high four assists, and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 40.9 percent (70-for-171) from the field. Boyd, who had at least five assists in a game 13 times, was second on the team in minutes played last year at 826 (28.5 mpg).

Senior forwards Gentry Shrewsbury and Damien Tunstalle are also back after strong junior campaigns. Shrewsbury started 17 of his 29 games played, averaging 16.7 minutes, 2.9 points, 3.2 rebounds while totaling 17 steals and six blocks. Tunstalle also played in every Mountain game last year. The Beckley, W. Va. native shot 49.2 percent (58-for-118) from the field and 44.2 percent (23-for-52) from three-point range.

Rounding out the returners are senior guard Eric Bailey and sophomore forward Jordan Davis. Bailey is coming off of a year in which he went 5-for-6 (83.3 percent) from three-point range while Davis’ 3.7 rebounds per game ranked fourth on the team.

Sophomores Paul Byrd, a guard, and Alex McGlothin, a forward, began their collegiate careers at Northern Kentucky. Last season, Byrd played in 25 games, shooting 48 percent from the field and passing out 30 assists while McGlothin saw time in 17 contests, making two starts and grabbing two rebounds a game with a 50 percent shooting percentage.

The Mountain Lions’ largest inside presence this season will no doubt be 6-10, 245 pound junior center David Baroum, who comes to Athens after spending two years at Bethune-Cookman and ST. Petersburg Junior College.

Junior forward Nick Ruffin averaged eight points and eight rebounds a game as a sophomore at Kalamazoo Valley Community College while sophomore guard Thomas Brown is a former All-Central Virginia Boys Basketball Player of the Year out of Nelson County High School.

Concord’s four-man freshmen class consists of forward Nick Moyer, guard Cam Shannon, guard Jake Bischoff and guard Luke Campbell.

The Mountain Lions begin their season by traveling to Erie, Pa. to take part in the Mercyhurst Invitational Tournament where they will play host Mercyhurst and Kutztown University back-to-back Nov. 9-10. From there Concord will jump right into WVIAC play for three games, including its home-opener Nov. 17 vs. Pitt-Johnstown, before the first of two non-conference games against West Virginia Tech (Dec. 3).

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As for the women, Kenny Osborne is returning for his 13th season, coming off a 22-7 season. They are picked to finish fourth in the WVIAC pre-season coaches poll.

On the court, Concord returns two starters in junior forward Andrea Bertrand and junior guard Amanda Smith. Last season, Bertrand earned All-WVIAC honors after averaging 13.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals and a field goal percentage of 50.2 percent in 28 starts. Smith started 27 of 28 games, shooting 46.4 percent from the floor while averaging 9.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists a night.

The Mountain Lions also welcome back six reserves who appeared in at least 12 games each last season.

Sophomore guard Rachel Artrip played the most of any non-starter in 2011-12, averaging 13.9 minutes a game in 28 contests. Artrip led CU in blocks with 12 and is the Mountain Lions’ top returning three-point threat (14-for-49 as a freshman). Senior guard Tanisha Williams was one of Concord’s top reserves a year ago, playing in 28 games with two starts. Williams shot 50 percent from the field and scored four points a game in addition to grabbing 2.1 rebounds a night.

Sophomore swingman Jacqueline Kestner played in 22 games a season ago, scoring 1.7 with 1.8 rebounds per game. Senior guard Katy Summerville appeared in 15 games as a junior. Junior center Sammie Webster and junior guard Ashley Brown are also back for the 2012-13 season. The duo appeared in 17 and 12 games, respectively a year ago.

Concord’s 2012 recruiting class consisted of three transfers and a six-woman freshmen class.

Sophomore guard Stephanie Wagner started 19 of 26 games played as a freshman at West Virginia State, averaging 9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 0.7 steals in 29.8 minutes played per game. She scored at least 10 points a game 13 times.

Junior guard Logan Castlebury comes to Concord after playing in 25 games over two seasons at South Carolina-Upstate. Freshman guard Leslie Mack is a former three-time all-state performer who began her collegiate career at High Point University. Lauren Estes’ junior season will be her first with the Maroon and Gray.

Concord’s freshman class consists of Mack, guard Amber Chadwick, guard Elizabeth Evans, center Ashley Mullins, center Allison Mullins and center Brooke Gee.

In addition to a grueling 22-game WVIAC Schedule, Concord will also play non-conference games against Indiana (Pa.), Clarion, West Virginia Tech, UVA-Wise, Virginia Intermont and Lincoln Memorial.

The Mountain Lions’ 2012-13 season officially begins with a pair of games against IUP and Clarion at the WVIAC-PSAC Challenge Nov. 9-10. Concord opens its home schedule Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m. against West Virginia Tech in the Carter Center.

Let me know what you think by writing me c/o Jeff's Sports Corner, P.O. Box 1199, Princeton, WV, 24740. I can also be reached at delimartman@yahoo.com or jharvey1@frontiernet.net or on Facebook.

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