Maryland Bible unable to topple MSU
By Dave Morrison
Sports Editor
It wasn't a Mountain State specific offense that Maryland Bible College coach Jim Pearce employed Saturday in its game with Mountain State, a game it would ultimately lose, 99-75.
But he wasn't complaining about the results in a matchup that on paper resembled a David vs. Goliath showdown.
With nearly the same results ... at least early on.
Instead of a slingshot and a rock, the Eagles (David) choose a slowdown and the three-ball to try and topple the NAIA No. 2 Cougars (Goliath).
For nearly a half, it worked.
But unlike David, Maryland Bible came up short in this classic big man vs. little man showdown, eventually falling to the Cougars 99-75.
"This offense we employed wasn't because of Mountain State, but because we had low numbers," Pearce said. "But no team likes to play defense for 25 seconds a possession."
And that showed.
The Cougars led nearly the entire way, except once at 4-3, but never could pull away early.
When MSU went up by seven, Mike Simon hit back-to-back threes to make it a 1-point game, 22-21, with eight minutes left.
What's more, they outscrapped and outhustled for nearly every loose ball.
"They were running the shot clock on every possession and they did a good job of controlling the tempo," MSU coach Bob Bolen said. "And we were sloppy early on."
Up three, 29-26 with 4:31 left, Mountain State finally righted the ship, going on a 13-2 run to end the half.
They added to that with a 14-1 run to open the half making that once three-point lead a 56-29 advantage.
"We were able to get out and run the ball a little bit and we changed the tempo," Bolen said.
"We knew what we faced when we came down here," Pearce said. "They are a great program, we know the history and it's a game on our schedule the players look forward to because of that. We got a little closer than we did last year."
MSU showed five players in double figures, led by Nick Aldridge's 18 (including 10-of-10 from the foul line) and Barry Wellington with 16 and seven assists.
Adison Mosquera came off the bench to score 14, Marcus Hunter had a season-best 13 and Andrew Lee was good for 12 points and 12 rebounds, his second double-double of the season.
Mosquera was especially sharp, hitting 7-of-8 shots from the floor.
"Coach gave me the opportunity to play and I wanted to make the best of it," Mosquera said. "Whatever I can do, if it is scoring points, I want to do it to help this team to the national championship."
"Adison did a great job when he got in there," Bolen said. "He gave us a lot of energy and that was a big lift for us."
MSU made 35-of-57 shots (61.4 percent) and hit 24-of-26 free throws. The Cougars also had assists on 25 of their made field goals.
Simon led Maryland Bible with 22 points. Tyrone Burns had 19 and Terry Hosley 13.
Mountain State (3-0) returns to action Tuesday against West Virginia Wesleyan at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center at 7 p.m.
— E-mail: demorrison@
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