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.
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