By Bret Strelow. CHARLESTON, S.C. — In a showdown of teams that were top-three SoCon finishers a year ago, an App State Wrestling squad with five freshmen in its 10-man lineup recorded victories in the final nine matches to claim a 31-3 win at The Citadel on Sunday.

App State (2-2 overall, 2-0 SoCon) followed a league-opening win at VMI with another road victory, highlighted by No. 33 Carson Floyd’s 4-3 decision against No. 27 Patrick Brophy in a ranked battle at 197 pounds. Aldo Hernandez accounted for one of App State’s four major decisions in his first career dual start at 141, and fellow redshirt freshman Logan Eller also posted his first career dual win at 184.

No. 8 Will Miller took his first lead on a takedown with about a minute left in a 6-4 decision against Thomas Snopes at 165, and redshirt freshman Jeremiah Price bounced back from a recent 5-3 loss to Pitt transfer Tyler Badgett at the Southern Scuffle by winning a 5-2 decision over Badgett at 157. Kaden Keiser, meanwhile, won an 8-3 decision at 149 against Carson DesRosier, who entered the dual with a 14-3 record for the Bulldogs (3-2, 0-1).

The Mountaineers’ other victories were bonus-point results that came from Chad Bellis (11-1 major at 133), Luke Uliano (8-0 shutout at 174) and true freshman Stephan Monchery (11-3 major at heavyweight). Uliano led 1-0 entering the third period against Ben Haubert and rode out the final two minutes, producing near falls worth two and four points before earning a bonus point because of his riding time.

After they split two matches last season, Floyd turned defense into offense for a takedown and rideout with just under two minutes left in the first period against Brophy, who cut his deficit to 4-3 with a second-period takedown. With Floyd’s riding time at approximately 40 seconds entering the third, Brophy chose neutral instead of starting on bottom with a one-point deficit, and Floyd used strong defense in the third to avoid a go-ahead takedown for Brophy.

A redshirt freshman from Asheboro, Hernandez recorded a takedown in the first 10 seconds of his dual debut and ended the second period against Thomas Termini with a takedown as time expired for a 6-2 advantage. Hernandez added two more takedowns in the third.

Eller, who was making just his second dual start of the year and third of his career, had a takedown midway through the first and finished the period on top to seize control against Micah DiCarlo.

Price, another redshirt freshman, used a takedown in the closing seconds of the first period and a reversal early in the third period to beat Badgett, a third-place finisher at the Southern Scuffle.

While redshirt freshman Bryson Terrell dropped an 8-2 decision against Gylon Sims to begin the dual, App State’s youth ended the dual in impressive fashion, as Monchery took the lead on a second-period takedown and added two more takedowns in the third against Mason Ayers.

Bellis followed a first-period takedown with a rideout and turned a 4-0 lead into a 7-0 advantage thanks to a takedown in the closing seconds of the second period against George Rosas. His bonus-point win put App State ahead for good, and Keiser followed Hernandez’s major decision with a six-point first period in which he made a turn for near fall points after delivering a takedown.

Price’s win gave App State a 14-3 lead halfway through the dual, and Miller fell behind 3-0 on Snopes’ early takedown. A one-point penalty and a Miller escape cut the deficit to 3-2 by the end of the first, and a trade of escapes in the second and third periods meant Miller was trailing 4-3 in the third. He went ahead for the first time on a takedown with about a minute left and finished the match on top.

The 2024-25 season is presented by Hungry Howie’s and Penn Station. App State has a big weekend ahead, with home duals on back-to-back days against No. 8 Virginia Tech (Sunday at 3 p.m.) and Duke (Monday at 7 p.m., after a high school dual between Watauga and Avery) in Varsity Gym.

Tickets are available online for the duals against Virginia Tech (priced as a Varsity Plus match) and Duke. Tickets for home wrestling events are $5 cheaper in advance of match day.

App State 31, The Citadel 3

• 125: Gylon Sims (CIT) def. Bryson Terrell (APP), 8-2 dec.
• 133: Chad Bellis (APP) def. George Rosas (CIT), 11-1 maj. dec.
• 141: Aldo Hernandez (APP) def. Thomas Termini (CIT), 14-3 maj. dec.
• 149: Kaden Keiser (APP) def. Carson DesRosier (CIT), 8-3 dec.
• 157: Jeremiah Price (APP) def. Tyler Badgett (CIT), 5-2 dec.
• 165: #8 Will Miller (APP) def. Thomas Snipes (CIT), 6-4 dec.
• 174: Luke Uliano (APP) def. Ben Haubert (CIT), 8-0 maj. dec.
• 184: Logan Eller (APP) def. Micah DiCarlo (CIT), 6-0 dec.
• 197: #33 Carson Floyd (APP) def. #27 Patrick Brophy (CIT), 4-3 dec.
• Hwt: Stephan Monchery (APP) def. Mason Ayers (CIT), 11-3 maj. dec.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After leading by as many as 12 points with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, App State women’s basketball turned back a fierce Coastal Carolina rally to win a thrilling nailbiter, 63-60.

After losing to Troy on Jan. 9, App State needed to get back on track in taking early command of the Sun Belt Conference standings. The win puts them in 5-way tie for second place, at 4-1 in league play, with Old Dominion, Troy, Louisiana and Arkansas State. The only remaining undefeated team is James Madison, at 5-0. The Mountaineers are 8-7 overall.

Forward Rylan Moffitt helped the Mountaineers to a 13-point lead with 5-for-5 shooting in the second quarter, finishing the game 7-of-7 and a team-high 15 points. The 6-0 junior forward is in her second year playing for the Mountaineers, after transferring from Daytona State following her freshman campaign. After starting 31 of 32 games during 2023-24, this year she is coming off the bench as one of the Mountaineers’ top reserves. She is making the most of it, second on the team in rebounding only to starter Elena Pericic and still No. 5 on the team in scoring.

In the game’s critical moments at the end, it was senior point guard Eleyana Tafisi who provided a key play, drawing an offensive foul with just 12 seconds to play. Even still, Coastal Carolina couldn’t capitalize, the Chanticleers’ senior forward Jaylen Ponder unable to convert two free throws in the final seconds that likely would have tied the game at 62 and sent it into overtime. As it was, the Mountaineers’ Pericic was fouled after collecting the last free throw rebound and was fouled, upon which she made one of her final two shots from the charity stripe with six seconds remaining.

The Chanticleers brought the ball up quickly on the inbound, desperate for a 3-pointer that would send the game into OT. But a strong defensive effort by the Mountaineers at midcourt produced a wild, even late attempt, icing the game for App State.

The win was doubly pleasant for Mountaineer basketball fans, who earlier had watched the men’s team dethrone the Dukes of James Madison, 86-66.

Up next, App State has a 2-game road swing, first in Norfolk, Va. facing Old Dominion on Jan. 15 (6:30 p.m.) and then on Jan. 18 at Marshall (Huntington, W.V.), with tipoff slated for 1 p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPN+.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Visiting James Madison men’s basketball became their own worst enemy on Jan. 11 at the Holmes Convocation Center — and App State took advantage in carving out a dominating, 86-66 victory in front of 2,405.

Thanks largely to the Dukes’ turnovers (10 in the first half alone), the Mountaineers gained early momentum, including separation on the scoreboard midway through the opening half, but it was an 11-0 run just before intermission that arguably drove a dagger into the hearts of the visitors. The scoring burst, capped by a 3-pointer by CJ Huntley just 10 seconds ahead of the buzzer sent App State into their locker room at halftime with a commanding, 49-30 lead.

The Mountaineers may well have played their most complete game of the 2024-25 season, a third consecutive Sun Belt Conference win confirming that the players are finally “gelling” at just the right time, with lots of league play still ahead of them.

“Gelling” is not always a given with a team makeover. The revamped roster from last year’s regular season Sun Belt champs features only three players from a year ago. The rest are either freshmen or acquired through the transfer portal. And this demonstrated, midseason success serves to confirm the high performance quality of the Mountaineer staff, led by head coach Dustin Kerns, both in terms of recruitment in the modern world of college basketball as well as coaching.

Two of those returnees from 2023-24’s championship season, forward CJ Huntley guard Myles Tate, tied for game-high scoring honors with 21 points apiece. Huntley also pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds. Tate recorded game-high honors in both assists (7) and steals (3, tied with App State’s Jackson Threadgill).

A newcomer transfer from Stephen F. Austin University, senior forward Jalil Beaubrun was a key contributor with 16 points.

Among the most impressive stats for the Mountaineers is the rebounding performance of guards Tate and Alonzo Dodd. While cleaning the glass is usually a job reserved for the big guys, the two App State backcourt playmakers combined for 14 rebounds, 7 each, to deprive the Dukes of offensive opportunities.

Have we mentioned yet that the Mountaineers were locked in on their offensive end’s basket? The team’s overall field goal percentage was a stunning 54 percent (28-of-52) and 59 percent from behind the 3-point arc (10-of-17).

If James Madison had a bright spot, it was in the form of senior starting senior Elijah Hutchins-Everett and his inside presence. A year ago, the 6-11, 260 lb. big man was playing for Seton Hall and the two years before that at Austin Peay. With star senior guard Mark Freeman in foul trouble and benched for much of the game, the Dukes turned to Hutchins-Everett for much of their firepower.

With the win, App State moves to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in Sun Belt Conference play. Next for the Mountaineers is a 4-game road swing, starting with at Old Dominion (Jan. 16, 7 p.m.), at James Madison (Jan. 18, 4 p.m.), at Arkansas State (Jan. 23, 9 p.m. ET), and at ULM (Jan. 25, 3 p.m. ET).

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Four Mountaineers got into double figures scoring but it was not enough to overcome a tough-minded Troy women’s basketball team on Jan. 9. The Trojans led by as many as 17 points late in the fourth quarter and stopped App State’s 3-game winning streak with a dominating, 85-68 win.

The Mountaineers had few answers for Trojan starting forward Zay Dyer, a 6-2 junior from Atlanta. Dyer recorded a double-double with game-highs in scoring 22 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.

Troy’s senior starting guard Ashley Baez, a Dominican Republic native and transfer from Florida Gulf Coast, was also a strong contributor with 20 points and a game-high four steals.

Troy won the opening tipoff and quickly built a 5-point lead just three minutes into the first period. The slow-starting Mountaineers battled back to tie the game at 10-10, went ahead 14-12 with 1:23 left in the opening quarter, and the two teams battled to a 16-16 tie at quarter’s end.

An 8-0 run by Troy to open the second period gave the visitors from Alabama a measure of momentum and they never gave it back. They led 42-31 at halftime, 67-54 at the end of the third quarter, and finished off the Mountaineers in the fourth quarter, outpointing App State, 18-14 in the final stanza to get to the eventual outcome.

App State created a lot of opportunities with 28 defensive rebounds and limiting the Trojans to just seven offensive rebounds, but could not capitalize. They were victims of their own making in many respects, all too frequently missing layups and lackluster ball-handing coming up court. Those missed layups proved costly as Troy finished the game with 39 defensive rebounds vs. 16 offensive rebounds by App State.

Troy dominated in the paint, scoring 42 points vs. the Mountaineers’ 26 and the Trojans also were more effective in transition outpointing their hosts, 16-4 on fastbreaks. Troy’s reserves also were more productive, contributing 23 points vs. just 11 points produced by the Mountaineer bench.

The brightest spot on the court for App State was starting guard Zada Porter, who poured in a team-high 18 points, including hitting on 4-of-8 shots from behind the 3-point arc. Others in double figures for the Mountaineers were Elena Pericic (10 points), Eleyana Tafisi (11 points) and Emily Hege (10 points).

Even down by as many as 17 points late, the estimated “Education Day” crowd of more than 400 that braved the snowy elements to be in attendance witnessed a team that fought hard to the bitter end, even if the outcome was not in their favor. The hustle and work ethic were ever present — the shots just didn’t go in.

The Mountaineer women will try to get back on track Jan. 11 in the back end of a hoops doubleheader. The App State men tipoff against James Madison at the Holmes Center at 1 p.m., followed by the App State women hosting Coastal Carolina.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Jumping out to an an 11 point lead by the halfway mark of the first half is a good start. Keeping the pedal to the proverbial medal and winning by 23 points is even better. App State led from start to finish on Jan. 8, defeating Coastal Carolina, 74-51.

Grad student forward C J Huntley recorded yet another double-double, pouring in 21 points while collecting 15 rebounds. The Huntersville native warmed up the crowd on this snowy night (paid attendance: 1,703), bringing to their feet and appreciative roars with three dunks.

Senior guard Myles Tate burned the net for 17 points and distributed a game-high seven assists and two steals. Forward Jalil Beaubrun was also in double digits scoring, with 11 points.

Six threes from our bigs… that’s big!

Head coach Dustin Kerns used an eight-man rotation against the Chanticleers, with Huntley (38 minutes) and Tate (35) doing yeoman’s work on the floor. As the sixth man, guard Jackson Threadgill came off the bench to be part of the mix for 25 minutes, while guards Alonzo Dodd (21 minutes) and Dior Connors (25 minutes) joined Beaubrun (22 minutes) as the principal players in the rotation. Freshman big man Michael Marcus, Jr. (14 minutes, 8 points) and Jamil Muttlib (12 minutes, 4 points) were the only other Mountaineers to see meaningful court time.

The Mountaineers started the game with a 24-7 run, with contributions from a broad array of scorers including Beaubrun, Huntley, Tate, Marcus, Threadgill and Muttilib. App State played almost error-free, committing just six turnovers while distributing the ball freely, generating 14 assists.

Meanwhile, the Mountaineers capitalized on 11 Chanticleer turnovers, scoring 14 points off Coastal miscues. They also had control of the inside, outrebounding the visitors 40-33, with a 30-24 advantage for points in the paint.

With 21 points and 15 rebounds, CJ Huntley recorded his second consecutive double-double.

Led by Marcus and Muttilib, App State’s bench was the biggest factor in recent memory, contributing 16 points.

With two Sun Belt Conference wins in a row now in the books, the Mountaineers have evened their record in league play at 2-2, and improved overall to 8-7. Responding to a media question in the post-game press conference, Beaubrun pointed out, “In the 4-game losing streak before these two wins, those were some pretty good teams and they were all close games. We knew we just a couple of plays away and the last two games we made those plays. We are breaking through. Now we have to keep it up.”

Head coach Dustin Kerns was also upbeat.

“From start to finish, that was the most complete game we have played, on both sides of the floor… Coastal Carolina is a good team. They are well-coached in Year 1 (of new head coach Justin Gray). They rank really high in a lot of categories, especially defensively, which presents some problems,” said Kerns.

Now in his sixth year at the helm of the Mountaineer program, Kerns had special praise for forwards Huntley and Marcus, who combined for six of the team’s successful shots from beyond the arc.

“Six threes from our bigs… That may be one of the things (Coastal) is willing to live with, to give up. Fortunately for us, we made them,” said Kerns.

Left unsaid: when your bigs are dominating inside and taking command from outside, too, it becomes a powerful offensive combination.

App State will conclude its longest home stand of the season (four games) on Saturday, Jan. 11, vs. James Madison with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m., the front side of a matinee doubleheader also featuring the App State women’s tilt at 3:30 p.m., vs. Coastal Carolina.

The Mountaineers’ men look to extend their winning ways before a 4-game road trip that includes at Old Dominion (Jan. 16), at James Madison (Jan. 18), and a nationally televised faceoff with Arkansas State (Jan. 23), then concluding with a Jan. 25 contest at ULM (Louisiana-Monroe).

Meanwhile the App State women’s team is currently undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play at 3-0, playing some exciting basketball under new head coach Alaura Sharp. The distaff version of the Mountaineers dispatched Arkansas State, (at) South Alabama, and (at) Southern Miss, returning home to host Troy on Jan. 9 (12 noon), before playing Coastal Carolina on Jan. 11.

.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It might have been freezing cold outside but inside the Holmes Convocation Center on Jan. 4, it was hot, hot, hot for the App State men’s basketball team. The Mountaineers shot almost 53 percent from the field and over 54 percent from beyond the arc en route to a convincing, 72-61 win over Texas State, with 2,512 in attendance.

Coming into the game, App State was ranked No. 28 out of the 355 NCAA Division I programs in field goal percentage defense — and they didn’t disappoint vs. the Bobcats. The Mountaineers held Texas State to just 37.7 percent from the field, including 36.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

In getting a first Sun Belt Conference win for the 2024-25 season, App State had three players in double figures, including a game-high 22 points by Myles Tate. The senior guard from Spartanburg, S.C. (Dorman HS) was good on 4-of-6 from beyond the arc (67 percent, 12 points). Tate played his first three seasons at Butler University before transferring to App State a year ago. In addition to racking up his third straight 20-point game, Tate was strong on the boards against the Bobcats, collecting seven rebounds on the night. Even while earning game-high scoring honors, he also dished out a game-high six assists and plucked two steals.

Grad student forward CJ Huntley was celebrated on Jan. 2 for having scored his 1,000th career point for the Mountaineers. As unlikely as it might sound to those who have watched the Huntersville, N.C. native’s previous four years playing for App State, against Texas State he recorded his first double-double, with 10 rebounds and 12 points. Huntley and Tate were both on the court for more than 35 minutes. During that time, the Davidson Day School alum made four of five free throw attempts for one of his best nights from the charity stripe.

Also scoring in double figures for the Mountaineers against the Bobcats was Alonzo Dodd, a junior guard from St. Paul, Minn., with 14 points, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Dodd, who played his first two years at Texas A&M-Commerce, also was credited for six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” said App State head coach Dustin Kerns in opening his post-game press conference. “We beat a really quality team (in Texas State)… They have had some really good wins this year. We led for 37 minutes (36:58), but we had a really complete game. Our bench helped us, our starters played well. We had to make some adjustments against (Tyrel) Morgan, who has been averaging 17 points a night. He got 16 tonight. They were going small with him and it created some matchup problems, but we adjusted to that.”

The sense of relief in getting the 2024-25 season’s first Sun Belt Conference win was evident in Kerns, now in his sixth season at the helm of the Mountaineers. With almost an entirely new roster of players after last year’s regular season Sun Belt Championship, it has taken some time for things to “gel” for App State.

“We finished off the game well,” said Kerns, comparing the most recent win to the last four losses. “We’ve been playing really good teams and fighting hard, but we got through today.”

In describing his expectations going into the game vs. the Bobcats, Kerns offered some details.

“If you look at some net numbers, this was the No. 3 ranked team in the Sun Belt going into today. So it is a really quality team. They are a team that ranks in the top 50 in the country in setting ball screens. They are really dynamic with it and one of the reasons we started in zone (defense) to change up. I don’t think we have done that in six years, but it was to not let them get into a rhythm, ball screen wise. We gave up some rebounds, then went to a man-to-man defense which was good for us,” said Kerns.

“Texas State is also a team that shoots the three pretty well,” added Kerns, “but they don’t shoot a lot of them… We did a pretty good job of forcing them to shoot threes. They don’t normally have 22 attempts (from behind the arc).

“The stat we really harped on with the guys is (Texas State) is undefeated when they get 13 or more offensive rebounds,” Kerns added. “But the flip side of that is they haven’t won when they get eight or under offensive rebounds. We held them to eight (tonight). Our guys did a really good job on the glass.”

Kerns noted that Texas State is also one of the top teams in the country in getting to the free throw line — and making them. Against App State, the Bobcats shot 100 percent from the charity stripe, but only had seven opportunities.

“I thought our guys did a really good job at not fouling and holding them to only seven free throws,” said Kerns.

App State (7-7 overall) will stay at home for its next two conference tilts, Jan. 8 vs. Coastal Carolina (6:30 p.m. tipoff) and Jan. 11 vs. James Madison (1 p.m.).

The Chanticleers join a total of seven Sun Belt teams, including App State, at 1-2 in conference play, but are 8-7 overall with key wins vs. Western Michigan, South Carolina-Upstate, Alabama A&M, Campbell and Louisiana-Monroe (ULM).

JMU is one of four teams at 2-1, tied for second in the Sun Belt and 9-6 overall. Key wins include vs. Ohio, East Tennessee State, and conference wins at home against Southern Miss and Arkansas State.