CONCORD – The Tide had every reason to enter play on Friday against Spaulding (0-5) feeling confident: Concord (2-3) had just won the Capital Classic and picked up its first win of the regular season against Keene. But for the first quarter or so, the Tide appeared to have reverted back to losing basketball, marred by turnovers, bad shots and missed free throws.

After head coach Tim LaTorra called a timeout early in the second, something seemed to provide a jolt. Junior Logan Perkins sank three 3s, sophomore Brett Tuttle added two more, and the Tide steamrolled through the rest of the game, ultimately winning, 74-58.

Trailing by 10 after the first quarter, Concord outscored the Red Raiders, 66-40, the rest of the way. 

The scoring came from a variety of sources: Perkins led all scorers on the Tide with 16 points; juniors Japhet Nduwayo and Eli Bahuma each had 15; Tuttle added 14 himself. It was by far the most points Concord has scored in a game all season.

“We got guys that can shoot,” LaTorra said. “That was our struggle early on in the season. When guys are starting to get their confidence, they’re starting to find that rhythm. The greatest part about it all is you look at the box score, we’ve got four guys in mid-double figures. That’s every guy finding each other. It’s unselfish play.”

At the start of the season, the Tide struggled mightily breaking presses from opposing teams, frequently turning the ball over because guards – especially Bahuma and Nduwayo – seemed to be trying to make things happen a bit too quickly. And while Friday's performance was surely far from perfect, it was a clear improvement from a month ago, particularly with Bahuma.

“A lot of that is Eli, how he is able to get down the floor and find guys,” LaTorra said of why the offense had so much success. “(He’s) starting to figure out how to create for himself now, too. He’s a difference-maker.”

Since starting the season 0-3, the Tide have now pieced together back-to-back wins. Tuesday’s win over Keene featured a spectacular 32-point performance from Nduwayo, while Friday had the more evenly distributed scoring output. Though Keene and Spaulding might not be at the top of Division I, Concord will surely take the wins. After all the program has been through the last few years, anything to build confidence is a boost. 

And now that LaTorra’s team has a month of games under its belt, he’s started to see clear growth on the floor.

“I think it’s remarkable improvement,” he said. “For the first month, we’re trying to build guys up with confidence. There was not a lot of confidence, not a lot of belief in themselves. So the first month, that’s all it was, build them up, say, ‘Hey, you can compete. You can do these things,’ and now, they’re starting to believe it.”

There’s still a long way to go in the basketball season, but for Concord, the tide finally seems to be starting to turn. 

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