By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Take away a forgettable night shooting free throws and there was a lot to like about the Appalachian State men’s basketball team’s season opening win over Oakland City on Nov. 7, 87-49, in front of 2,010 paying customers in the Holmes Convocation Center.
The Mighty Oaks may only be a small school, NAIA-member contender, but they provided a few challenges to the Mountaineers. That said, AppNation had to have been pleased with the energy, focus and ball-sharing mindset of their favorite sons.
The Mountaineers’ pesky defense led to 18 turnovers by the Mighty Oaks compared to just seven by App State. As a result, Appalachian held a 20-8 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Taking advantage of size and athleticism mismatches, Appalachian was dominant on the boards, pulling down 51 total rebounds vs. 39 by Oakland City.
Head coach Dustin Kerns all but emptied his bench in the second half, 13 of 15 rostered players seeing court time and the Mountaineers hardly skipping a beat even deep into the reserves on the floor.
Transfer student Tre’Von Spillers, a 6-7 junior forward from Charleston by way of Moberly Area Community College, may be one of the newer faces on the team but made his presence felt with 16 points and five rebounds to lead all scorers. Another 6-7 junior forward, Mountaineer returnee Christopher Mantis, was also in double figures with 12 points, including 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the 3-poiint arc. The sharpshooter from Lowell, Ind., brought the crowd to its feet in the second half with consecutive 3-pointers.
A 6-9 sophomore forward from Pompano Beach, Fla., Justin Abson picked up where he left off a year ago as a freshman team leader in rebounding, pulling down 12 on the evening.
Among the other Mountaineer newcomers, the fans got a good look at Myles Tate, a 6-0 guard from Spartanburg, transferring from Butler University. Another new face is freshman Josh Hayes, a 6-9 forward from Gainesville, Fla., who scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds in 19 minutes on the floor.
Afterward, Kerns opened the press conference by expressing appreciation for the crowd and the fan support, then acknowledged how well his team played, paying attention to a lot of the little things they address in practice. He was particularly pleased with the relatively few turnovers and how well his players shared the ball.
“Everyone played and everyone scored,” said Kerns.
Up next, App State will be tested on the road first at Northern Illinois on Nov. 11, a MAC/Sun Belt Challenge game hosted by NIU in DeKalb, Ill. After that, the Mountaineers head west to Corvallis, Ore., where they will take on Oregon State on Tuesday, Nov. 14. On Nov. 21 and 22, App State will travel south to Fort Myers, Fla., for the Fort Myers Tip-Off event where they will play UNC-Wilmington and Murray State, respectively.
