By Katherine Jamtgaard. HARRISONBURG, Va. — The App State women’s basketball team fell short to James Madison, 77-61, on the road on Thursday.
“JMU really controlled this game tonight. We had a slow start offensively and it seemed to suck the life out of us,” said head coach Alaura Sharp. “Their defense was really packed in and they have great length. It’s important for our team to learn how to break down a defense like that. I thought we had some good moments as a group but consistency is key when playing a great team like (JMU).”
For a fourth game this season, senior Mara Neira led the Mountaineers, netting 18 points and draining four of App State’s eight treys. Junior Emily Hege netted 11 points and knocked down two 3-point buckets for the Mountaineers. App State’s top rebounder on the night was senior Emily Carver (8 rebounds). Senior Eleyana Tafisi dished out a team-high seven assists and made a team-high seven steals. App State netted 31 points off the bench and 11 second chance points. The Mountaineers also held the Dukes to five treys and four second chance points.
James Madison led early in the first quarter and maintained the lead through the duration of play. A jumper from Hege put the Mountaineers on the board to cut JMU’s lead to 5-2. Neira got around the defense for a layup and later drained a trey for the Black and Gold, but it wasn’t enough as JMU took a 15-7 lead at the close of the quarter.
Senior Zada Porter opened the second quarter with a three-point play. Carver and fellow senior Samantha LaFon, who netted a season-high eight points on the night, combined for nine of App State’s 15 points in the quarter. Carver drained a trey and LaFon got to the hoop for a pair of layups to cut into JMU’s 27-17 lead. Despite a trey from Neira and a Carver layup, the Dukes took a 36-22 lead into halftime.
Early in the third quarter, Hege went on a 7-0 run of her own, knocking down back-to-back treys as well as an and one free throw. The Mountaineers went on an 8-0 run over 1:08 as Tafisi completed a three-point play, Neira made a layup, and Pericic drilled a trey. Junior Rylan Moffitt landed a jumper and Carver completed her own three-point play to chip away at the deficit (53-42). Despite trailing 55-42 at the close of the quarter, App State never turned the ball over and caused six JMU turnovers during the period.
Hege opened the fourth quarter with a jumper before the Dukes extended the deficit. Neira and LaFon combined for 12 of App State’s points in the quarter. The Mountaineers made a late 8-0 surge over 0:28, which included a layup from LaFon and back-to-back 3-point buckets from Neira, but it wasn’t enough as JMU sealed the win, 77-61.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will head to Atlanta, Ga. for a rematch against Georgia State at 5 p.m. on Saturday. App State will return to Boone to host Marshall on Feb. 19 and James Madison on Feb. 22.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Fans of high school football may not like it but a potentially exciting and historic college football game between App State and Charlotte in the Duke’s Mayo Classic has been rescheduled from Thursday, Aug. 28 to Friday, Aug. 29, with kickoff time and broadcast connections to be announced later.
Kickoff time and TV network designation for the Duke’s Mayo Classic matchup will be announced later.
Within a minute of each other on Feb. 10, App State and Charlotte issued press releases announcing the game in conjunction with the Charlotte Sports Foundation.
App State also provided the following information regarding ticket sales and distribution.
Tickets to the game through the App State ticket office are expected to go on sale online to the public the week of April 7.
Yosef Club members in good standing will be able to purchase tickets via a special presale starting Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 9 a.m. for the highest-level members and running through the end of February per membership levels shown below. Each group will receive an email from the ticket office when their presale is set to begin. Ticket prices start at $50.
A special App State student presale will be held the week of March 17. Tickets are $25 for App State students.
App State Athletics will receive the revenue from tickets purchased directly from the school’s ticket office through June 1.
App State Presale – 2025 Duke’s Mayo Classic Tickets
Feb. 11-14: Circle of Excellence members (max 8)
Feb. 11-14: Yosef Club members in good standing $5,000-$24,999 (max 8)
Feb. 17-21: Yosef Club members in good standing $3,500-$4,999 (max 8)
Feb. 17-21: Yosef Club members in good standing $1,500-$3,499 (max 6)
Feb. 24-28: Yosef Club members in good standing up to $1,499 (max 4)
March 17-21: App State students
Week of April 7: Online public sale
2025 Duke’s Mayo Classic Ticket Prices
Bowl Seats:
$50 – Sections 118-120; 227-234
$70 – Sections 106-107, 116-117
$90 – Sections 108, 110-115
Club Level:
$75 – Club C (Sections 308-310; 320-323)
$115 – Club B (Sections 318-319)
$135 – Club A (Sections 316-317)
Tickets will be allocated by current rank as of early summer 2025.
All tickets are mobile and will be sent to purchasers from the Charlotte Sports Foundation. Instructions will be sent to all purchasers prior to receiving the mobile tickets.
By David Rogers. ATHENS, Ohio — Trailing by six at halftime, Appalachian State men’s basketball flexed their defensive muscle and dominated Ohio in the second, winning the back half of the Sun Belt-MAC Challenge game, 72-59, on Feb. 8.
Mountaineer redshirt senior Myles Tate poured in a career-high 27 points on the afternoon, his third 20+ point effort in as many games and the eleventh of the season.
The matchup was intriguing. App State, among the NCAA Division I leaders in team defense, faced a high-scoring Bobcats offense that was averaging more than 80 points per game. True to form, the Mountaineers limited Ohio to the Bobcats’ second-lowest scoring output of the season.
Three Mountaineers scored in double figures: Tate (27 points), Dior Conners (14) and Jalil Beaubrun (11). It was Beaubrun’s sixth straight game in scoring 10 points or more.
Graduate forward CJ Huntley had a relatively quiet night, scoring, with just seven points, but corralled a game-high nine rebounds and blocked a shot. From behind the arc, the Mountaineers made eight 3-pointers, half of them by Conners.
App State will now put its non-conference slate behind them and focus on finishing out the Sun Belt regular season. They are on the road in Conway, S.C. for a Thursday, Feb. 13 matchup with Coastal Carolina. Two days later (Feb. 15), they are back on the road to Atlanta, facing Georgia State.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It wasn’t the prettiest basketball performance, but a meaningful win nonetheless.
Still clinging to a 5-way tie for second place in the Sun Belt Conference standings with hopes for a bye into the conference tournament quarterfinals or semifinals, App State men’s basketball won with a buzzer-beater against Southern Miss on Feb. 5, 60-58, in front of paid attendance of 2,236.
CJ Huntley lofts a shot at the basket Feb. 5 vs. Southern Miss. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
After guard Dior Connors buried a 3-pointer from the corner with 38 seconds remaining in the game to tie it at 58-58, all mayhem broke out at the Southern Miss end as the Eagles tried to get the last winning shot. A missed jumper by Eagle guard Andre Curbelo at the 13-second mark caromed off the rim and teammate Christian Watson tried to tip it in, but the put back missed and was collected by App State forward Jalil Beaubrun.
App State immediately called time out.
“It wasn’t me that called the timeout,” said head coach Dustin Kerns. “It was the players… It was a really good job by our players to call that timeout.”
As things turned out, it was the headiest of calls, stopping the clock and saving time.
App State head coach Dustin Kerns gives instructions late in the Feb. 5 game vs. Southern Miss. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
For the second time in the 2024-2025 season, with seven seconds on the clock App State head coach Dustin Kerns designed a play for senior guard Myles Tate to take the last (and possible winning) shot — and for the second time Tate called a winning audible. With the clock winding down toward zero, he spotted graduate forward CJ Huntley in the lane and whistled the ball to him for a resounding dunk and the winning points. After a review by the game officials, it was confirmed that Huntley did in fact beat the buzzer — with 0.2 seconds left on the clock. For Southern Miss, it was just enough time to inbound the ball before “game over.”
After the game, Kerns was the first to remind reporters of a similar buzzer-beater in late November when, on a similar play designed for Tate to take the last shot, the redshirt senior instead found Dior Connors with an open look for the game-winner against William & Mary.
“I give assistant coach Tanner Smith credit for that last play tonight,” said Kerns, “getting Myles (Tate) on the run. They (Southern Miss) really triple-teamed him, which allowed CJ (Huntley) to leak out to the basket. I credit Myles for making the right play.
The App State dance team and cheerleaders had a lot to cheer about on Feb. 5 vs. Southern Miss in the Holmes Convocation Center. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
“The (designed play) was to get Myles downhill,” Kerns added, “with (forward) Jalil Beaubrun setting a screen and let Myles make a play. Myles Tate… it’s what makes him a winner… he made the winning play. That is the second time he has done that (in 2024-25), a play being designed for him but he trusted a teammate. It was a great job by CJ to go finish that and dunk it.”
App State carved out the win in spite of 12 turnovers on a night when shooting by both teams seemed to come at a premium. Opportunities to gain separation were squandered (by both teams) with errant passes or not protecting the ball.
“I give Southern Miss credit,” said Kerns. “They were really aggressive with us, especially with our ball screens. We expected them to play a different coverage. They came up with a game plan for us, which is very common. We did something different with them, too. They set us up for some of our mistakes. I give them credit for the turnovers.”
Whether shooting or making a game-winning pass, Myles Tate seems to come up big every game for the App State Mountaineers. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
When push came to proverbial shove, it was App State’s conference-leading defense that may have saved the day.
After Connors tied the game at 58-all with 38 seconds left, it was Beaubrun who muscled in to collect the defensive rebound on Curbelo’s errant shot and Watson’s missed tip-in that could have given the Eagles a lead with 10 seconds left on the clock. Earlier, Beaubrun made his presence felt with what Kerns described later as a “monster block.” Huntley was ever present to secure one of his game-high 12 rebounds, matched only by Southern Miss forward Denijay Harris.
Along with his 12 rebounds, Huntley’s dunk at the final buzzer gave him a game-high 20 points and his second consecutive double-double. It was his sixth double-double of the season.
Both the Mountaineers and Eagles got the majority of their offensive production from inside the paint, App State with 34 points down low and Southern Miss with 32. Huntley and Beaubrun (12 points) were the only Mountaineers in double figures, but Tate and Connors added eight important points each. Reinforcing the inside theme, redshirt freshman center Luke Wilson came off the bench to add six points.
Guard Alonzo Dodd has become an important complement to App State’s other two starting guards, Myles Tate and Dior Connors. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports.
At 9-3 in Sun Belt Conference play, Arkansas State continues to hold on to the No. 1 spot in the standings, but App State (8-4) joins South Alabama, Troy, James Madison and Marshall in a tie for the coveted No. 2 seed.
The 5-way deadlock should sort itself out in the coming few weeks. After the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge game at Ohio on Feb. 8, the Mountaineers travel to Coastal Carolina (Feb. 13) and Georgia State (Feb. 15) before returning home to challenge Georgia Southern (Feb. 20) and Marshall (Feb. 22). They close out the regular season on the road with tilts at Georgia Southern (Feb. 25) and at Marshall (Feb. 28). The Sun Belt Conference Tournament is scheduled to begin March 4, with the championship game slated for March 10 in Pensacola, Fla. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds earn byes into the semifinals, the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds into the quarterfinals.
By Katherine Jamtgaard. MONROE, La. – The App State women’s basketball team maintained its unblemished series record against ULM (Louisiana-Monroe) with a 73-71 victory over the Warhawks on Wednesday, as Zada Porter made a driving, tiebreaking layup with 2.6 seconds remaining.
The Mountaineers have won 15 games without a loss against the Warhawks, dating back to their first meeting in 1996.
App State rises to 13-9 on the season and 9-3 in Sun Belt play. The Mountaineers remain tied with Troy (15-9, 9-3 SBC) in the conference standings.
“Our staff is really proud of our team,” said head coach Alaura Sharp. “This was a great game for both teams. The game honored toughness and our team really fought hard from down nine in the second half to close it out. We were locked in and focused on finishing the right way.”
Four Mountaineers netted double-figures, led by junior Elena Pericic, who netted 22 points. Pericic also notched her sixth game as App State’s top rebounder, grabbing six rebounds. Both Pericic and senior Emily Carver drained 3-of-3 from the arc and combined with senior Eleyana Tafisi for nine of App State’s 14 treys. Tafisi netted 14 points and dished out a team-high seven assists. Junior Emily Hege netted 12 points, dished out six assists, and pulled down five rebounds.
The Mountaineers shot 58.3% from the arc, knocking down 14 treys for a single-game season high. Six of the 10 Mountaineers who touched the court contributed treys. Additionally, Wednesday’s contest marked App State’s eighth game this season with 10 or more 3-point buckets. The Mountaineers also shot 53.1% from the field. App State and ULM tied things up on seven occasions and traded the lead 15 times.
App State drained 6-of-8 from the arc in the first quarter, with five Mountaineers contributing treys. ULM took an early 6-0 lead with a pair of treys from Meloney Thames. Hege answered with a pair of treys of her own to knot the score at 6-6. Tafisi knocked down a 3-point bucket and landed a jumper to put App State up, 11-8. With a jumper from junior Rylan Moffitt and a layup from Pericic, the Mountaineers pulled ahead, 15-12. As ULM edged ahead, 3-pointers from Carver, Pericic, and senior Mara Neira gave the Mountaineers a 24-22 advantage to close the period.
Hege opened the second quarter with a layup in the paint, which Pericic followed up with a 3-point bucket to extend App State’s lead to 29-22. Pericic and Neira combined for six of App State’s nine points in the second quarter, as Neira also knocked down a trey. ULM found momentum as the Mountaineers faced a scoring drought. Despite a freebie from Carver, ULM took a 34-33 lead into halftime.
The Mountaineers and Warhawks traded the lead on 12 occasions over the second and third quarters. Building off layups from Pericic and a pair of free throws from Hege, App State took a 41-40 edge. ULM went on a 10-0 run to take a 50-41 lead. The Mountaineers cut the deficit to 56-51 at the close of the third quarter with a jumper from senior J’Mani Ingram and a pair of 3-point buckets from Tafisi.
With a layup from Pericic and a pair of freebies from Hege early in the fourth quarter, App State cut the Warhawks’ lead to 56-55. Pericic and Carver, who combined for 12 of the Mountaineers’ points in the period, knocked down treys to keep the Mountaineers within one of ULM’s lead (62-61). A freebie from Tafisi knotted the score at 62 all. With a jumper from Tafisi and a 3-point bucket from senior Zada Porter, App State edged ahead, 67-66. As ULM regained the lead with a pair of free throws, Carver knocked down her third trey of the game to tie things up at 71-71. With 2.6 seconds showing on the clock, Porter came in clutch with a layup in the paint to give App State the victory.
Up Next
App State will host Northern Illinois at 2 p.m. for its second MAC-SBC Challenge game of the 2024-25 campaign. Saturday’s game will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. There will be a pregame youth clinic on the Holmes Convocation Center concourse at 1:15 p.m. with App State’s women’s sports teams for the first 50 kids ages pre-K to eighth grade who sign up.
By David Rogers. HARRISONBURG, Va. — Host James Madison rallied late in the first half on Jan. 18, going on a 12-2 run to tie the men’s basketball game vs. App State at intermission, 20-20, but the Mountaineers jumped out to the lead after the break and never let it go. The Boone-based visitors completed the season sweep of the Dukes, 58-50, in front of 4,685 at the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
Although the game evolved as a defensive battle, redshirt senior guard Myles Tate poured in a game-high 20 points, the eighth game during the 2024-25 season in which he has scored 20 or more points. Fellow guard Dior Connors hit it big from long distance, successful on six of eight attempts from behind the 3-point arc.
James Madison’s self-inflicted wounds, also known as “turnovers,” played a part in the outcome. Although their 13 TOs were only two more than the 11 committed by the Mountaineers, App State was more adept at capitalizing, picking up 16 points on JMU’s miscues.
Tate and forward CJ Huntley tied for team-high honors in rebounding.
Now sporting a 5-game win streak, the Mountaineers improve to 11-7 overall and 5-2 in Sun Belt Conference play. The win moves the Mountaineers into a tie with Arkansas State for second place in the standings, behind only the 6-1 South Alabama Jaguars.
The Dukes’ starting guards Mark Freeman and Bryce Lindsay were the only home team players in double figures, scoring, with 10 and 13 points, respectively.
App State will have an opportunity to break the second place deadlock on Thursday, Jan. 23, when they travel to Jonesboro, Ark., to face Arkansas State. It was a Red Wolves’ Freddy Hicks buzzer beater that knocked the Mountaineers out of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals last March. Only Tate, Huntley and redshirt freshman Luke Wilson remain on the Mountaineer roster from a year ago, but the sting of the upset will likely be somewhere on a locker room bulletin board.
By Katherine Jamtgaard. NORFOLK, Va. — The App State women’s basketball team fell short to Old Dominion, 78-71, on Jan. 15
“Today was a tough loss on the road for our team,” said head coach Alaura Sharp. “We played a pretty good first half but unfortunately had a slow start to the second half and gave them the momentum. As a team, we are disappointed in how we rebounded the ball. We need to find a different level of grit and toughness to win on the road.”
Three Mountaineers netted double-figures, led by senior Zada Porter, who matched her career-high 23 points, which she originally set on Jan. 2 at South Alabama. Porter also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, matching her career-high that was originally set on Feb. 24, 2023 against ULM. Porter dished out six assists, which was two short of her career-high of eight. Wednesday’s game marked the second game this season where Porter was the team’s top scorer and top rebounder.
Junior Rylan Moffitt made a career- and team-high five blocks in addition to scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Moffitt came within one of her career-high of 16 points, which she set on Jan. 27, 2024 at JMU. Senior Emily Carver netted 14 points for the Black and Gold. Fellow senior Eleyana Tafisi dished out a team-high nine assists, coming within one of her career-high of 10, which she set during the 2023-24 campaign.
App State (8-8, 4-2 SBC) netted 44 points in the paint and 27 points off the bench. The Mountaineers shot 49.1% from the field.
Porter was quick to put the Mountaineers on the board with a layup in the paint. ODU (13-5, 5-1 SBC) managed to tie the score once in the first quarter with a pair of freebies before Porter made another layup to push the Black and Gold ahead, 4-2. The Mountaineers went on a 14-2 scoring run over 4:18 to establish a 16-4 lead. The run included a pair of layups from Carver, 3-point buckets from senior Mara Neira and Tafisi, as well as a pair of Tafisi freebies. As ODU chipped away at the deficit, Porter got to the hoop for her third layup, nailing 3-of-3 from the field over the course of the period. Carver, who netted 10 of her 14 points in the first quarter, went on a 6-0 run of her own, making a pair of layups and draining a pair of freebies. App State closed the period with a 24-13 lead after shooting 75% from the field and 100% from the line.
Moffitt opened the second quarter with a jumper to extend App State’s lead to 26-13. The Mountaineers faced a scoring drought over 4:32, as ODU narrowed the deficit to four with a 9-0 run. Carver snapped the Black and Gold’s scoring drought with a layup, assisted by Porter. Porter then made a layup of her own with an assist from Tafisi to keep the Mountaineers ahead, 30-22. Porter made another layup to keep App State up, 32-26. Senior Asjah Inniss contributed a free throw and Moffitt closed out the period with a layup in the paint. App State took a 35-29 lead into halftime. Over the course of the quarter, Moffitt and Porter combined for eight of App State’s 11 points, while Tafisi dished out four of App State’s five assists.
Early in the third quarter, ODU cut App State’s lead to four, but Carver got around the defense for a layup to keep the Mountaineers ahead, 37-31. The Monarchs found momentum and took their first lead of the game, 39-37, with an 8-0 run. A jumper from Porter, who netted nine points over the course of the period, knotted the score at 39 all. ODU pulled ahead, 44-39. A three-point play and layup from Porter cut ODU’s lead to two (46-44). Moffitt and Porter made back-to-back layups to push App State ahead, 48-46. Old Dominion managed to edge ahead with a 3-point bucket and established a 55-48 lead as the Mountaineers faced a late scoring drought. Despite a 3-point bucket from Inniss, ODU closed the quarter with a 58-51 lead.
In the fourth quarter, freshman Hekla Nökkvadóttir completed a three-point play to cut into the Monarchs’ lead, 60-54. Moffitt, who netted nine points during the period, made a pair of layups, completed a three-point play, and landed a jumper for the Mountaineers. Senior J’Mani Ingram made a late layup of her own to cut the deficit to 73-68. Despite a last-second 3-point bucket from Porter, the Mountaineers fell short, 78-71.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will head to Huntington, WVa. to take on Marshall at 1 p.m. on Saturday. App State returns to Boone for a four-game homestretch, which will start with a rematch against Old Dominion at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 23.
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.
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.
Rylan Moffitt (15) came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points and lead App State past Coastal Carolina, 63-60, on Jan. 11. Photo by David Katzenmaier, courtesy of App State Athletics
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.
Rylan Moffitt scored a team-high 15 points in coming off the bench to lead App State past Coastal Carolina on Jan. 11. Photo by David Katzenmaier, courtesy of App State Athletics
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.
CJ Huntley winds up for a tomahawk slam dunk vs. James Madison on Jan. 11, in App State’s 86-66 win at the Holmes Convocation Center. Photo courtesy of App State Athletics
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.
Myles Tate (12) leads the team off the floor after App State’s 86-66 win over James Madison on Jan. 11. Photo courtesy of App State Athletics
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).
