Box Score SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Junior forward Morgan McDonald (Inwood, WV/Musselman) scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Shepherd University to an 86-68 win over Concord in first round action of the MEC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Butcher Center on Tuesday night. Shepherd hit the 20-win mark for the first time since the 1991-92 team went 23-10.
McDonald connected on 10-of-15 field goals with a 2-of-2 effort from three-point range. He was 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. He also added three steals and three blocked shots.
Junior guard Austin Cunningham (Vincent, Ohio/Ohio Valley) added 19 points, four assists, and four rebounds, while senior guard Brantley Osborne (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) had 18 points, eight boards, and four assists.
Senior guard Marcus Pilgrim (Mitchellville, Md./Bishop McNamara) contributed 13 points and three rebounds. Pilgrim (1,012) went over 1,000 points for his career.
Cam Shannon had 20 points and Aaron Miller added 19 for the Mountain Lions. Terry Hopewell added 13 points.
Shepherd took the lead for good at 16-13 on a three-pointer by Pilgrim at the 12:48 mark and took a 41-28 lead into the break.
Concord rallied to within nine points at 73-64 with 3:18 to play, but Shepherd closed the game on a 13-4 run to pull away for the victory.
Shepherd shot 50 percent (32-64) from the floor with a 34.8 percent (8-23) effort from three-point range. The Rams hit on 14-of-18 free throws (77.8 percent).
Concord shot 46.8 percent (29-62) from the floor with an 8-of-30 effort (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The Mountain Lions drained 2-of-5 free throws (40 percent).
Shepherd had a 42-25 edge on the boards. The Rams forced 14 turnovers and committed 14.
Shepherd improves to 20-9, while Concord completes its season at 8-21. The Rams advance to the tournament quarterfinals on Friday. They will face #4 seed Glenville State at 2:15 at the Charleston Civic Center.
