By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It was a tale of two basketball teams. One couldn’t miss. The other couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.
That is the way it was, at least in the first half on Jan. 26 when Appalachian State men’s basketball jumped out to a 42-27 halftime lead, then maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half to win, 71-59.
Appalachian State never trailed in this game, played before an announced attendance of 2,559 at the Holmes Convocation Center. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes and let the Panthers pull to within three points (11-8) with just under 14 minutes remaining in the first half, then went on a 15-2 run from which Georgia State could never recover. On the run, the Mountaineer scoring came from all corners, including buckets by Christopher Mantis, Terence Harcum, Donovan Gregory and Dibaji Walker. There were 3-pointers from long range, pullup and stepback jumpers, driving layups… the Mountaineers couldn’t seem to miss on every opportunity.
Technically, Georgia State “won” the second half, 32-29, but there were still few hiccups in the App State offensive effort nor in their disruptive defensive play.
For the game, almost a third (30 percent) of Appalachian’s points came from behind the 3-point arc. Eleven percent of the points came on the team’s whopping eight slam dunks. And 37 percent of the Mountaineer points came from inside the paint, while 23 percent were contributed by Mantis and Walker coming off the bench.
Harcum’s 21 points earned game-high scoring honors, with heady contributions from Donovan Gregory (16), Mantis (14), and Xavion Brown (8).
Brown tied with two Panther players for game-high honors in rebounds, with eight, but five of those were offensive boards that gave the Mountaineers valuable second chance opportunities — and they recorded 15 second chance points. App State also got strong rebounding efforts from Gregory (7), C J Huntley (7), Justin Abson (5), and Harcum (5).
True to his season form, Abson blocked four Georgia State shots. The freshman now has 47 for the season, good enough for No. 4 in the Sun Belt Conference when calculating from all games played. Thursday night’s four blocks by Abson should move the freshman up the NCAA Division I leaderboard from No. 18 to No. 14 when all games nationally are entered into the database.
At 5-4 in Sun Belt Conference play and 12-10 overall, the Mountaineers are in a four-way tie for fifth place in the standings. Also at 5-4 are Georgia Southern, James Madison and Troy. At 7-2 in conference play, Southern Miss and Louisiana are tied at the top, while Marshall and Louisiana-Monroe, both 6-3, are knotted in third place.
Closing in on the end of the regular season, App State has nine games remaining, including the next three home games against Arkansas State (Jan. 28), Marshall (Feb. 2) and James Madison (Feb. 4). After that, four of the next six contests are on the road.
SELECTED TEAM STATS
- Field goal %: GSU 44% (25-57), APP 46% (24-52)
- 3-Point FG %: GSU 25% (5-20), APP 37% (7-19)
- FT%: GSU 57% (5-7), APP 67% (16-24)
- Turnovers: GSU 12, APP 12
- Total Rebounds: GSU 28, APP 37
- 2nd Chance Points: GSU 11, APP 15
- Bench Points: GSU 8, APP 16
- Points in Paint: GSU 36, APP 26
- Fast Break Points: GSU 11, APP 5
- Blocks: GSU 3, APP 4
- Steals: GSU 8, APP 8
- Assists: GSU 7, APP 10
KEY INDIVIDUAL PERFORMERS
- APP – Donovan Gregory 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals
- APP – Xavion Brown 8 points, 8 rebounds
- APP – Terence Harcum 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
- APP – Christopher Mantis 14 points
- GSU – Jamaine Mann 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
- GSU – Brendan Tucker 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
- GSU – Ja’heim Hudson 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals
- GSU – Collin Moore 10 points, 3 assists, 3 steals
