By David Rogers. CONWAY, S.C. — App State shrugged off an early defensive battle with Coastal Carolina on Feb. 13 — and leveraged a 23-7 run over the final 11 minutes to record a fourth straight win, defeating the Chanticleers, 64-46.
Senior guard Myles Tate and graduate forward CJ Huntley continued to lead the Mountaineers, each scoring 17 points to claim a share of game-high honors. Tate recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds (another game-high), while Huntley cleaned the boards for 8 rebounds. Luke Wilson (8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocked shots) and Jalil Beaubrun (3 points, 6 rebounds, 1 blocked shot) led the Mountaineers coming off the bench.
Conference Tournament Ramifications
The win keeps the Mountaineers locked in a 4-way tie for the coveted No. 2 spot in the Sun Belt Conference standings with South Alabama, Troy and James Madison, all at 9-4 in league play. Arkansas State has sole possession of No. 1, at 10-3. After regular season play, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds are rewarded with byes into the semifinals of the conference tournament slated for Pensacola, Fla., March 4-10. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds receive byes into the quarterfinals, so a lot is at stake for the remaining conference games in February. App State is at Georgia State on Feb. 15, returns home on Feb. 20 to host Georgia Southern, then stays at home to face Marshall on Feb. 22. The Mountaineers travel to Statesboro, Ga. on Feb. 25 in a rematch game vs. Georgia Southern and close out the regular season on the road, at Marshall, Feb. 28.
