By Zach Smith. BOONE, N.C. — A crowd of 8,052, the largest since 2009, showed up at the Holmes Center Saturday night (Jan. 27) to witness a battle between two Sun Belt powerhouses. App State once again showed out on national television, defeating James Madison, 82-76.
Entering Saturday’s contest, the Mountaineers and the Dukes sat atop the Sun Belt Conference standings. Both programs boasted impressive, non-conference results, leading to Saturday’s most anticipated home basketball game in recent memory for the Mountaineers.
it felt like a home court, legit atmosphere
App State hosted a “block party” in front of the third-largest crowd since the Holmes Center opened in 2000. The Mountaineers solidified a reputation as the best shot-blocking team in the country, swatting away 12 shots. Sophomore forward Justin Abson tied the App State record with eight blocks of his own.
The Mountaineer scoring effort was led by junior forward Tre’Von Spillers. His 21 points, along with Myles Tate’s 10 and 14 each by Donovan Gregory and Terence Harcum, was enough to put the Dukes away. Gregory was the Mountaineers’ top distributor, assisting on six made shots.
Terrence Edwards Jr. led the way for JMU with 25 points, while TJ Bickerstaff (15) and Julien Wooden (8) both surpassed the 1,000 career point milestone. Michael Green III’s five assists was a team-high for the Dukes.
The first two minutes were all JMU. Following Harcum’s opening shot, the Dukes went on a 6-0 run to take an early lead. App State found their stride, though, and six Mountaineers scored on their ensuing 13-1 run. App State’s defense came alive in that stretch, as JMU was unable to convert on a shot from the field over a seven-minute period. Neither team was able to score more than five consecutive points following the opening runs, and App State took an eight-point lead into the locker room.
The second half was dominated by App State’s free-throw shooting. The Mountaineers scored 25 points from the line, more than half of their 46 total points in the final 20 minutes. JMU did try to mount a miraculous late-game comeback, but were only able to get within four points of the Mountaineers. App State was able to put the Dukes away, completing a season sweep of the preseason Sun Belt favorites.
App State head coach Dustin Kerns shared his thoughts on the matchup and atmosphere postgame.
“It was a great college basketball game from two really good teams,” Kerns said. “But, the nation seeing Boone, App State, our atmosphere, you know, from a recruiting standpoint, all of the above.”
Justin Abson, unbelievable
Justin Abson posted an App State program-record eight blocks in the victory over JMU. Kerns gave Abson credit for his performance Saturday night.
“Justin Abson, unbelievable,” Kerns said. “And we had a lot of guys, right? But from a defensive standpoint, protecting the rim, he was just unbelievably outstanding. Eight blocks, and I think he probably altered 10 more.”
Abson shared his perspective on his historic night.
“Honestly, going into the game I wasn’t thinking I was gonna get a lot of blocks,” Abson said. “In the previous game [against JMU] I had four blocks, and I saw the interview where [JMU head coach Mark Byington] said the team needed to emphasize not attacking me. I guess he didn’t do a good enough job and that was the end result.”
Saturday night saw the largest crowd at the Holmes Convocation Center since the Steph Curry-led Davidson visited in 2009. It was the second game to have an attendance of 7,000 or more this season. Kerns shared what he thought was different about the crowd against JMU vs the Mountaineers’ statement win over Auburn in early December.
“I thought tonight was about App State,” Kerns said. “I thought maybe the Auburn game was a little like ‘hey we’ve got Auburn here, big game, let’s go see.’ But I thought that tonight was like, we had people here to see App State play.”
Kerns spoke on what the home court atmosphere meant to him and how it impacted App State’s performance.
“After our pregame meal, which is four hours before the game, I was told there were students outside,” Kerns said. “So I went up there, and it was like 50 or 60, it wasn’t just two or three. That was kind of like a ‘wow’ moment. It was really cool, but I think the energy in the building, our students, our crowd, it felt like a home court, legit atmosphere. Once again, it rose our level, it hurt our opponent tonight, James Madison, but it really felt like a legit home court atmosphere.”
As a team, both sides shot at a 42% clip with six made three-pointers each. App State had the edge from the charity stripe, cashing in on 30 of their 40 free-throw attempts. The Mountaineers’ bench outscored James Madison’s, 22-10, But the Dukes out-rebounded App State, 41-39.
With the loss, JMU falls to a three-way tie for third in the Sun Belt standings. After a perfect non-conference slate, the Dukes have dropped three games to conference foes. Two of those losses have come at the hands of App State. JMU looks to rebound Thursday (Feb. 1), as they play host to Coastal Carolina. Tipoff is set for 7:00p.m., and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.
App State finishes their four-game homestand on a six-game win streak. The Mountaineers retain their solo position at the top of the Sun Belt, moving to 8-1 in conference play. App State returns to action Thursday, as they travel to Atlanta for a rematch with Georgia State. The game is slated to tipoff at 7:00p.m., and can be streamed on ESPN+.
