Starting forward Gregory Graves, who has sat out the past two games for Mount St. Mary's because of concussion-related symptoms, is on track to return for Saturday's Northeast Conference opener at Robert Morris.
Graves, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound junior, suffered a concussion in the team's 46-45 loss at American on Dec. 20. He was able to finish the game, but complained of headaches afterward.
"When you get those injuries, and especially a concussion, it takes time to get back," Mountaineers coach Jamion Christian said Tuesday. "So we're always going to do what's best for our student-athletes.
"We've missed him dearly, but we're going to be excited to have him back. He's one of our more physical, tougher players. He's really having a special season. So we'll be excited to have him back in uniform against Robert Morris."
Graves, who leads the Mountaineers (4-7) with more than 26 minutes per game, ranks fifth in the Northeast Conference in defensive rebounds (4.4) and sixth in total rebounds (6.1). Without Graves, the team has been outrebounded, 76-69, in its last two games, including a 48-36 disadvantage in Monday night's 69-35 loss at Old Dominion.
But Christian cautioned that any return of concussion-related symptoms would set the clock back on Graves' return and force him to the sideline for an extended period of time.
"We've got our fingers crossed, hoping that he wakes up today and feels great and takes another step today working with our trainer," Christian said. "If he still feels great, we'll be excited to have him back on Saturday."
Graves' absence in the starting lineup has been filled by freshman Mawdo Sallah. The 6-8, 215-pound center has just two points, four rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes of play, but Christian said Sallah has done what the coaches have asked of him.
"Mawdo brings a tremendous amount of energy," Christian said. "We're going to play a lot of guys here. So everyone that steps out on the floor for us completes a puzzle. What we're trying to do with each lineup that's on the floor is, we're trying to match up well in terms of energy and skill and ability. So he's been starting, and we've been bringing [7-0, 225-pound junior center] Taylor Danaher off the bench.
"Taylor has been one of our consistent players, and he can start or come off the bench. Taylor's just been so good coming off the bench that we didn't want to put him in the starting lineup. We wanted to give Mawdo an opportunity. Mawdo brings us a physicality.
"He's got a 7-foot-2 reach, he can block a ton of shots. He can play really free in the first couple of minutes because we're not really worried about his fouls. So he's really done a great job for us."