By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Balanced play up and down the Holmes Center court by App State offset a dismal day at the free throw line and beyond the arc, the Mountaineers battling to a 65-60 win over Eastern Michigan in the final installment of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge for the 2025-26 season. They extended their win streak to six games.
Alonzo Dodd led the way for the regular tenants of the Holmes Center in front of reported Alumni Day attendance of 1,870. The St. Paul, Minn. native who transferred to App State a year ago from Texas A&M-Commerce as a junior has become the tip of the ball-handling spear for the Mountaineers. He dished out five assists to complement a game-high 23 points against the Eagles — and late in the second half added his 100th career steal.
Three other Mountaineers recorded double figures in scoring, including Kasen Jennings (11 points), Luke Wilson (10) and Eren Banks (10). Wilson added 10 rebounds to complete a double-double, while also defending the rim with a pair of blocked shots.
Eastern Michigan also had four team members in double figures, led by a pair of big forwards in Mohammed Habhab and Addison Patterson, with 14 points each. Habhab also pulled down a dozen rebounds to record a double-double on the afternoon while showing his 6-11 ft. versatility with two blocked shots and distributing six assists.
The first half was a tight affair with five lead changes. The largest margin (6 points) coming with just one minute before intermission when Banks knocked down a 3-pointer. But Patterson responded half a minute later with his own shot from beyond the arc to narrow the Mountaineers halftime advantage to 36-33.
The second half was more of the same — except the Mountaineers never gave up the tenuous lead. The visiting Eagles kept the game close until the waning seconds when they were forced to foul, hoping the Mountaineers would miss their foul shots and return possession to EMU. App State’s biggest lead in this game was just 9 points, coming with just 36 seconds remaining on the game clock.
Although the Mountaineers had shot 72 percent from the free throw line in the last five games, all wins, against Eastern Michigan they reverted back to the kind of performance at the charity stripe (53.6 percent, or 15-of-28) that has them buried at dead last (No. 361) in free throw shooting among NCAA Division I programs.
Fortunately for the Mountaineers, EMU found it challenging to capitalize on App State’s miscues at the foul line. That, plus a strong performance inside the paint primarily by Wilson and Michael Marcus, Jr. in facing the 6-11 Habab, who posted team highs for Eastern Michigan in points (14), rebounds (12), assists (6) and blocked shots (2).
Afterwards, Mountaineer head coach Dustin Kerns acknowledged the strength of the Eastern Michigan program, noting its win over Cincinnati earlier in the year as well as recent overtime matchups with the top teams in the MAC.
“We knew we were in for a fight,” said Kerns. “I credit Eastern Michigan’s defense because we did not shoot the ball great, from the 3-point arc or from the free throw line. But we found a way to win and that is the sign of a good team, being able to win without our best performance.”
With the six-game winning streak, App State is now 17-9 overall and 9-4 in Sun Belt Conference play, moving them into sole possession of the No. 2 spot, a half game behind Troy (17-8. 9-3), a team the Mountaineers roundly defeated on the road, a week ago. At 7-4 in SBC competition, South Alabama and Marshall are tied for No. 3.
So the next five regular season conference games remaining, three on the road and two at home, will be crucial determinants in sorting out the seeding for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament beginning March 3 through March 9, hosted by the Pensacola (Fla) Bay Center. The top two regular season finishers receive byes into the semifinals (March 8). The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds receive byes to the quarter finals (March 7).
The Mountaineers go on the road for tilts at Georgia Southern (14-11, 6-6) on Feb. 11 and at James Madison (12-13, 4-8) on Feb. 14. They return home to host Marshall (15-9, 7-4) and a rematch vs. Georgia Southern on Feb. 21. Closing out the regular season is a battle at Texas State (15-11, 7-6) on Feb. 27.
SELECTED TEAM STATISTICS
- Field Goal %: EMU 40%, APP 39%
- Field Goals: EMU 25-63, APP 23-59
- 3-Point %: EMU 27%, APP 19%
- 3-Point Shots: EMU 6-22, APP 4-21
- Free Throw %: EMU 67%, APP 54%
- Free Throws: EMU 4-6, APP 15-28
- Turnovers: EMU 6, APP 7
- Points off Turnovers: EMU 6, APP 10
- Total Rebounds: EMU 37, APP 43
- 2nd Chance Points: EMU 17, APP 5
- Bench Points: EMU 8, APP 16
- Points in Paint: EMU 24, APP 38
- Fast Break Points: EMU 0, APP 12
- Blocked Shots by: EMU 3, APP 4
- Steals by: EMU 4, APP 4
- Assists: EMU 11, APP 13
- Times Tied: 9
- Lead Changes: 4
- Lead Time: EMU 3:36, APP 31:00
SELECTED KEY PERFORMERS
- APP – Alonzo Dodd: 23 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
- APP – Luke Wilson: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocked shots
- APP – Kasen Jennings: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
- APP – Michael Marcus, Jr.: 9 rebounds
- APP – Eren Banks: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
- EMU – Mohammed Habhab: 14 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocked shots, 1 steal
- EMU – Addison Patterson: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
- EMU – Jon Sanders: 12 points, 2 rebounds
- EMU – Gregory Lawson: 10 points, 1 assist
