2008-09 Concord Varsity Boy’s Basketball Team Results

8/14/2019 2008-09 Concord Varsity Boys Basketball Team Results

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2008-09 Concord Varsity Boys Basketball Team Results


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Game 1Michigan Center 66

Concord 58

The Michigan Center High School boys basketball team spent much of Monday nightlooking up at the big guy from Concord.

In the end, however, it was visiting Michigan Center standing tall on the scoreboard asthe Cardinals scored a 66-58 nonconference victory over Concord on opening night of the 2008-09 season.

Jordan Craig, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, led the Cardinals with 24 points, while 6-1 postplayer Nic Stevens added 16-points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Josh Woolworth scored 21 points, and 6-10 senior Zach Hersha had 10 points, 10rebounds and six blocked shots for Concord. Nick Thorrez added 11 points, all in thefirst half.

Hersha, who got into a little foul trouble early with two fouls in the first quarter, wasthe player that Michigan Center had to worry about throughout the game.

"The big guy just changes things," Michigan Center coach Greg Vieau said of Concord'sman in the middle. "He passes the ball real well. He's tough to drive on.

"Jordan (Craig) was all heart. He went right at Hersha. He didn't care."

Craig scored nine of his points in the fourth quarter, including two baskets on drivesthrough traffic, and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line in the game.

The Opener


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Game 1Michigan Center 66

Concord 58Michigan Center jumped out quickly, leading 14-3 after 4 minutes. The Cardinals went onto lead 18-12 after one quarter, 35-31 at intermission and 47-43 after three quarters.

"We missed some layups early, and that hurt us," Concord coach Matt Lehman said. "Itwasn't the start that we wanted, but we gutted it out and fought all the way back and tookthe lead."

Concord's only lead of the game was 43-41 after Hersha scored down low with 2:18 to playin the third quarter.

Michigan Center's biggest lead of the game was 12 points at 61-49, following Craig'sdriving layup over with 2:22 left.

"You've just got to go right at them," Craig said. "You can't alter your shot. If it getsblocked, it gets blocked.

"We're aggressive. We believe in ourselves."

Three 3-pointers by Woolworth in the fourth quarter kept the final margin under 10 points.

"We're going to be just fine," Lehman said. "Michigan Center is probably going to be one of the top three teams in their (Cascades) conference. I'm disappointed that we lost, but Iliked the unselfishness.

"We've got some nice pieces. We'll be fine."

The OpenerPage 2


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Game 2Concord 88Athens 57

Concord came back from a 22-14 first-quarterdeficit for a blowout victory to open Big Eightplay.Zach Hersha had 19 points, 10 rebounds and

seven blocks for Concord. Joshua Saldana had a game-high 23 points andseven assists, and Josh Woolworth added 18points and five assists for the Yellow Jackets(1-1)."(Saldana's) a nice player," Concord coachMatt Lehman said. "We got off to a slow start.We were sluggish out of the gate. At halftime,we made some adjustments, and he helpedget us going."


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Game 3Hanover-Horton 64

Concord 59 The Hanover-Horton High School boys basketball team shook off thecobwebs of a three-week holiday break and knocked off Concord 64-59Saturday in a game between two teams expected to contend forconference championships this season.

And, as Comets coach Chad Mortimer admitted, the rust showed. "Attimes we played pretty well, and at times it was really sloppy,"Mortimer said. "We'd get up and then take some ill-advised shots andturn the ball over. "It was an ugly win, but we take it and move on."

Hanover-Horton (2-1) was led in scoring by Sam Spink with 16 points.Senior center Ken Warren added 13 points and a game-high 14rebounds.

Concord (1-2) of the Big Eight Conference got 16 points and sevenrebounds from 6-foot-10 senior Zach Hersha. Nick Thorrez was nextwith 13 points.


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Game 3Hanover-Horton 64

Concord 59

Hanover-Horton of the Cascades Conference led most of the gameand ran its advantage to a game-best 14 points when Warrenscored off an inside move to give the Comets a 47-33 lead with2:55 to play in the third quarter. Concord spent the rest of thegame playing catch-up, and the Yellow Jackets made things closedown the stretch. Hersha scored six points and Jordan Bulloch fivepoints in a fourth-quarter run that cut the lead to four points. TwoBulloch free throws with 27 seconds to play pulled Concord towithin 61-57. Spink answered with a pair of free throws forHanover-Horton 2 seconds later to inch the margin back to sixpoints. A basket by Hersha with 6 seconds to play made it 63-59,but Concord could get no closer.

"If the players thought I was going to chew them out after this one,they were totally wrong," Concord coach Matt Lehman said. "Theyplayed their butts off against a good team. We were down 14, andwe fought back and had our chances. "I'm proud of my guys. Weshowed that we can play with the good teams."


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SLAMZach Hersha dunkson Hanover-Horton


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Game 4Concord 68

Jonesville 40 The Concord High School boys basketball team capitalized on a slow start by Jonesville on Tuesday night, pouncing on the Comets in the first half andcruising to an easy 68-40 victory.

It was a nice turnaround for Concord after a 64-59 loss to Hanover-Horton onSaturday. "The intensity level from the Hanover-Horton game carried over,"Concord coach Matt Lehman said. "We played with a little bit of a chip on our

shoulder.Concord (2-2, 2-0 Big Eight Conference) jumped out to an 18-8 lead after onequarter. The Yellow Jackets limited Jonesville to two field goals and three freethrows, including a basket on a disputed goaltending call.

Zach Hersha scored seven of his nine points in the first quarter, including adunk that helped stir a previously subdued Concord crowd. Concord

continued to control the action in the second quarter, even with the 6-foot-10 Hersha on the bench for most of the quarter with two fouls. In Hersha'sabsence, sophomores Christian Anderson and Zach Brigham stepped in tofuel the Concord offense. Anderson finished with 13 points, while Brighamadded eight.

"Christian Anderson was a monster," Lehman said. "He played great.


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Game 4Concord 68

Jonesville 40

Concord relentlessly pushed the ball up the court and burned the Cometsrepeatedly with transition offense. As the Yellow Jackets pulled away, Lehmandecided there was no reason to take his younger bench players out of the game."It became an opportunity for me, because I saw the confidence level of thesecond unit," Lehman said. "Those young guys stepped up, and we're going toneed them. Now they have something to draw from.

Concord made nine of 11 free throws in the first half and finished 15-for-20 fromthe line.

Concord's Jordan Bulloch scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half, and the Yellow Jackets held a comfortable 40-21 lead at halftime. Jonesville went on a brief 4-0run early in the third quarter but was unable to sustain it. "We have a goodbasketball team," Lehman said. "That score is not indicative of how good

Jonesville is. They just didn't play well.

Hersha finished with a game-high 10 rebounds, and the Yellow Jackets dominatedthe glass at both ends of the court. Concord outrebounded Jonesville 33-16. Josh Saldana had 10 points and four assists for Concord.

Travis Haas scored 11 points to lead the Comets.


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Game 5Concord 70

Springport 53

Josh Woolworth scored 20 points forConcord, which remained unbeaten andatop the Big Eight Conference standings.

Nick Thorrez added 12 points and 12rebounds, and Jordan Bulloch scored 10points for Concord (3-2, 3-0). Springport(1-4, 0-2) got 17 points from Brian Vogel.Concord blew the game open byoutscoring Springport 43-25 in the secondhalf.


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Game 6Homer 76

Concord 64A dose of adversity didn't faze the Homer High School boys basketball team Fridaynight. With three key players on the bench with three personal fouls in the secondquarter, Homer's reserves helped the Trojans maintain their lead and beat Big EightConference leader Concord 76-64. "They were ready to go in there," Homer coach TomFleming said of the second unit. "They showed that they really believe in their roles.

Starters Evan Camburn and Lincoln Hackworth and backup Blake Hinkle each picked upthree personal fouls in the first half. But other backups Reid Bagwell, Brian Edwards,Adam Boden and Zach Collmenter gave the Trojans some valuable minutes. Edwardsscored six points to lead the second unit.

Homer led by nine in the first quarter before Concord pulled within three on twooccasions in the second quarter. But Homer opened the second half with a 17-4 run tobuild a 60-43 lead, and Concord never made a serious run the rest of the way.

Each Homer starter scored in double figures for the second consecutive game. JordanRobinson had a team-high 16 points. Camburn added 15 points, while Hackworth and

Taylor Dow each scored 13 and Wade Brodock had 11. "That's tremendous balance,and it makes us hard to defend against," Fleming said. "Our execution was excellent aswe moved without the ball and passed it very good."


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Game 6Homer 76

Concord 64

Concord, meanwhile, had trouble finding balanced scoring. Joshua Saldanascored 26 points, and Josh Woolworth was next with just 10. Concord 6-foot-10center Zach Hersha got into foul trouble and finished with seven points. "That'salways a key," Concord coach Matt Lehman said of Hersha's foul situation.

Homer had a 44-31 edge on the boards but shot just 5-for-14 from the foul line. The Trojans did make nine 3-pointers, with Hackworth, a freshman, sinking ateam-high three.

"They shot the lights out," Lehman said. "Defensively, we struggled, and itseemed like we just couldn't find the right group to put out there, so that's onme.

Concord came into the game unbeaten in conference play and dropped to 3-3overall and 3-1 in the Big Eight. Homer is 4-4 and 2-1."I'm sure they didn't want to go to 1-2 in the league this early," Lehman said,"and it's tough to win on the road in the Big Eight."

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Game 7Vandercook Lake 77

Concord 66

Mat Negus scored 23 points as the Vandercook LakeHigh School boys basketball defeated Concord 77-66in a nonconference game at Concord on Monday.

The score was tied after the first quarter, butVandercook Lake went into halftime with a 46-35

lead."It was a combination of we didn't play good defenseand they shot the ball very well," Concord coach MattLehman said.Bryant Smak added 14 points for the Jayhawks (5-3),and Zach Austin had 12.Nick Thorrez led the Yellow Jackets (3-4) with 14points. Joshua Saldana added 13 points, and ZachHersha had eight points and a team-high 10rebounds.


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Game 8Concord 49Quincy 35

Concord limited Quincy to four points in thesecond quarter and four points in the third as itbuilt a 39-17 lead after three quarters."Our defense was awesome," Concord coach MattLehman said."We kept them out of transition and didn't give upsecond shots."Zach Hersha led the Yellow Jackets (4-4, 4-1) with

16 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks. JoshuaSaldana also scored 16 points.


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Game 9Concord 62Reading 37

Zach Hersha had 16 points and nine rebounds and Trevor Martin had 12 point and 13 rebounds forConcord in a road victory to stay atop the Big Eight.

Josh Woolworth added 13 points for the Yellow Jackets (5-4, 5-1), who outrebounded Reading 44-27,including 15 offensive boards.

"We won back to back at Quincy and Reading,"Concord coach Matt Lehman said. "Those are toughplaces to play, but we're playing very well."


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Game 10Concord 54Athens 46

Nick Thorrez scored 17 of Concord's 31 points in the first half and went on to score a career-high 24 to go along with eightrebounds and three assists.

"Thorrez had a great game," Concord coach Matt Lehman said."He came out red hot, and we needed him."

Zach Hersha added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Concord (6-4, 6-1), which took over sole possession of first place in the BigEight Conference.

Concord has collected three consecutive road wins in the BigEight against Quincy, Reading and Athens.

"Those are not easy places to play," Lehman said.


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Game 11Concord 92Litchfield 57

Zach Hersha had 15 points, 10 blocks and seven reboundswhile playing just more than half the game as Concordrolled to a nonconference victory.

Joshua Saldana scored 15 points and had six assists forConcord, while Christian Anderson added 14 points and JoshWoolworth 13. Jordan Bulloch chipped in with nine."It was obviously a team effort when you have four guys indouble figures and another guy with nine," Concord coachMatt Lehman said. "That was really the focus, getting a lotof guys some playing time."

Concord had 19 assists on 36 baskets and blocked 15 shots.


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Game 12Concord 86

Springport 63Concord coach Matt Lehman said he can tell his Big Eight-leadingteam is playing with a target on its back.

"That's why I was really impressed with the way the guys came out(Friday night)," Lehman said after an 86-63 victory over Springport."We came out hot."

Concord, 8-4 overall and 7-1 in the Big Eight, led 23-10 after the firstquarter and 41-27 at halftime. The Yellow Jackets won their fifthstraight game and topped the 80-point mark for the third time.

Josh Woolworth hit four of Concord's eight 3-pointers and finishedwith 26 points. Zach Hersha added 18 points, 15 rebounds and fourblocked shots, while Josh Saldana added 11 points and Nick Thorrezhad 10 points and four blocked shots.

Springport (3-10, 2-6) was led by Brian Vogel, who had 14 points.Shane Trudell added 12 points, while Ben Hawes and Seth Reinickeeach scored 11.


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Game 13Concord 60

Stockbridge 50 The balanced Concord High School boys basketball team continued on aroll Saturday night.

Concord defeated Stockbridge 60-50 at Spring Arbor University for its sixthconsecutive victory.

Joshua Saldana scored 21 points to lead the Yellow Jackets. Zach Hershascored 12 and Christian Anderson 10. Saldana is one of five players whohave led Concord in scoring this season.

"We've had different guys each night," Concord coach Matt Lehman said."Saldana stepped up."

Trailing by a point after the first quarter, Concord went on a 20-10 run inthe second quarter that included two 3-point baskets by Jordan Bulloch andone by Josh Woolworth. Those were Concord's only 3-pointers of the night.

Hersha had 14 rebounds and six blocked shots, and Saldana andWoolworth made four assists apiece for Concord (9-4).

Thomas Lovachis scored 22 points and Jeff O'Brien netted 15 forStockbridge (5-8).


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Game 14Concord 47

Jonesville 34

Joshua Saldana led all scorers with 17 points as Concordheld on to the Big Eight Conference lead.

Concord led 26-20 at halftime and inched away despitebeing held 20 points under its season scoring average.

"I thought we did a good job defensively," Jonesville coachDustin Scharer said. "(Saldana) was getting looks. He's beenplaying well lately. He's a solid player."

Nick Thorrez added 10 points for the Yellow Jackets (10-4, 8-1).

Kyle Flint and Chase Jacks each scored nine points for Jonesville (7-7, 4-5).


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Game 15Concord 56

Union City 47When Concord High School boys basketball coach Matt Lehman pulled hisstarting five early in the first quarter Friday night, it was by design.

It was Parents' Night, and Lehman wanted everybody to play. He just did it alittle sooner than he planned because the first string was sluggish at the start.

"I was going to let them go a little longer," Lehman said after his Big EightConference-leading Yellow Jackets defeated Union City 56-47 in Concord. "We

didn't have a good rhythm."Concord trailed 7-4 when Lehman pulled the starting five just 2 minutes and 15seconds into the game. It was 9-9 when the starting unit returned, and Concordtook the lead for good at 14-13 with 1:14 left in the first quarter.

The Yellow Jackets, 11-4 overall and 9-1 in the Big Eight, pulled away by scoringthe last 10 points of the second quarter to secure a 35-21 halftime lead. Themargin grew to a game-high 19 points in the third quarter, and Union City nevergot closer than nine the rest of the way.Despite the win, Lehman was not pleased with his club's performance.

"I thought Union City outplayed us, but we outmanned them a little bit," hesaid.


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Game 15Concord 56

Union City 47Lehman said his players might be thinking too much about being in first place and chasingConcord's first conference championship since the 1999-2000 season.

"We haven't been in this position before, and sometimes it looks like we're trying to do toomuch," he said. "At some points (Friday night) we were playing like we were behind."

Zach Hersha, Concord's 6-foot-10 senior center, was a presence in the post. He finished with 15points and 15 rebounds and blocked five shots. Union City altered many other shots as it tried toshoot over Hersha.

Josh Woolworth, who hit two 3-pointers and was 5-for-6 from the line, also scored 15 points,while Nick Thorrez added 10 with two 3-pointers.

"We have a lot of weapons," Lehman said. "We have different guys every night, and I like that.

"The big thing for me right now is to try and find the right mix of players."

Concord has a one-game lead over Quincy in the conference, while Homer, which lost Fridaynight to Springport, trails by three games with four to play. Concord has home games againstReading, Quincy and Homer and plays Union City on the road. The Feb. 27 game against Quincycould decide the league title.

"I don't want to just be good this year; I want to build a program," Lehman said. "Our youthbasketball program has been very successful, and that's very exciting for me."

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Get That


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Get ThatShot OUT of

Here!Concord's Nick

Thorrez blocks theshot of Union City'sMitchell Inman.


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CantTouch This

Joshua Saldanashooting off themove!


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Game 16East Jackson 88

Concord 84Bryan Goostrey scored 31 points, including eight 3-pointers, 7-of-8 free-throwshooting and five key points during the final 2 minutes as East Jackson held off alate comeback attempt and pulled the upset.Concord overcame a 22-point halftime deficit and tied the game at 82-82 with 2minutes remaining. On consecutive possessions, Goostrey made two free throwsand his final 3-pointer.

Jon Moore scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Trojans (4-12), whomade 14 3-point baskets. Cody Putnam had 17 points."It's the story of our season. We have no problem scoring; it's defense we have aproblem with," East Jackson coach Greg Zeller said. "I told the guys at halftimethat we could give up 50 points in a half. I'll tell you, that end of the court thenorth end was a funnel."

Goostrey made his first six 3-point attempts all in the first half and was fouledon his seventh, which resulted in three made free throws.

"(Concord) played a zone in the first half, and we kept giving it to (Goostrey)because they kind of left him open," said Zeller, who formerly coached at Concord."I don't think any of his shots were challenged until his seventh attempt."

Zach Hersha had 20 points and 21 rebounds to lead Concord (11-5). Nick Thorrezscored 20 points, and Josh Woolworth had 18.


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Game 17Concord 64Reading 51

Concord outscored Reading 18-8 in the first quarter and 21-14 in the fourth to remain alone in the Big Eight Conferencelead.

The Yellow Jackets (12-5, 10-1) had five players score 10 to12 points. Joshua Saldana scored all 12 of his points in the

second half. Josh Woolworth also netted 12."I thought we were real efficient on offense," Concord coachMatt Lehman said. "We just had different guys at differenttimes that were big contributors."

Concord won the rebounding battle 48-28, led by 12 from

Zach Hersha. Hersha also had seven blocks to go along withhis 11 points. Nick Thorrez scored 11, and Trevor Martin had10.


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Game 18Concord 61

Union City 47

Zach Hersha had 12 points, 17 reboundsand six blocks for Concord, which clinchedat least a share of the Big Eight Conferencetitle with a 61-47 victory over Union City.

Nick Thorrez added 15 points and sixrebounds for the Yellow Jackets (13-5, 11-1). Jordan Bulloch had 10 points, and JoshWoolworth had five points and five assists.

"I thought (Hersha) was real solid,"Concord coach Matt Lehman said. "Hereally dominated the boards and changedshots for us."


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Concord High School boys basketball coach Matt Lehmansaid the Yellow Jackets' first Big Eight Conference title sincethe 1999-2000 season was quite a few years, and quite abit of sweat, in the making."When I took this program over, no offense to anybody whowas here before me, it wasn't in very good shape," Lehmansaid. "I don't mean to say that to hurt anyone's feelings,but we went through some trying times. What I see now iswhat we've built over time."Concord reaped the fruits of that construction project with a61-55 homecourt victory over Quincy on Friday night. Thewin clinched the outright title, Concord's first for the eighth-year coach."We look back now on the process, and I see kids who werein the fourth grade in the first year I was here," Lehmansaid. "We got those little kids to play, and now here we are."We've got as good a youth program as anybody, andthat's what I'm proud of. I don't just want to be good thisyear, I want to be good next year and the year after that."


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Concord was plenty good on Friday.

Zach Hersha, Concord's 6-foot-10 senior center,scored 22 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blockedeight shots, and Joshua Saldana added 20 points.

"Hersha showed why he's the best player in the BigEight," Lehman said.

Saldana hit his last seven free throw attempts,including four in the final two minutes to help Concordkeep Quincy down.

"This is just amazing," Saldana said. "We haven't hadthis title in 10 years. This has been our No. 1 goal allseason."

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Hersha dominated the middle and had two big dunks intraffic to fire up the home crowd."People complain about some of our sports, but we wonsomething," Hersha said. "It's been our main goal."Concord improved to 14-5 overall and 12-1 in the BigEight, while Quincy fell to 10-7 and 9-4.Quincy played the Yellow Jackets tough throughout andtrailed just 44-41 after three quarters. A layup by Saldanaand a 15-footer from the free throw line by Nick Thorrezto open the fourth quarter made it 48-41.Quincy got no closer than four points the rest of the way.

Thorrez finished with 10 points and Josh Woolworth nineas just four Concord players scored.Quincy was led by Eric Stetler with 14 points.

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Big 8Champs

Joshua Saldana andConcord celebrate aBig Eightchampionship!


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Game 20Concord 57Homer 54

Josh Woolworth scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarteras the Yellow Jackets won for the 12th time in their last 13games.Concord trailed by one point in the fourth quarter until JordanBulloch hit a 3-pointer. Woolworth followed with two morefrom 3-point range."That was the turning point in the game," Concord coach MattLehman said. "Woolworth hit some absolutely humongousshots."Zach Hersha scored 24 points, pulled down 20 rebounds andblocked six shots for the Yellow Jackets, who finished theregular season 15-5 overall and 13-1 atop the Big EightConference.

Trevor Martin added 12 points and nine rebounds."He is the unsung guy on this team," Lehman said.Lincoln Hackworth led the Trojans (12-8, 9-5) with 16 points,and Evan Camburn scored 13.


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Game 21Districts at OlivetOlivet 64

Concord 50

The Eagles knocked down nine 3-pointers on theirhome floor as they eliminated the Big Eight Conferencechampions from the Class C district.Concord (15-6) trailed 27-16 at halftime."We came out and struggled from the field a little bitand missed open shots," Concord coach Matt Lehmansaid.

The Yellow Jackets cut the deficit to seven points in thefourth quarter but could get no closer."It seemed like every time we made a run, they hit abig shot," Lehman said.

Josh Woolworth scored 14 points for Concord, followedby Nick Thorrez with 11. Zach Hersha finished with 10points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks.

Documents

2008-09 Concord Varsity Boy’s Basketball Team Results