By David Rogers. MORGANTON, N.C. — A trio of Pioneer seniors combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter, leading Watauga to a comeback rally and a thrilling, 58-53 win over the host Freedom Patriots on Feb. 12.
With Freedom defending home court and the Patriot faithful loudly behind them, it was a very different game than the dominating, 83-63 win by Watauga on Jan. 22 in Lentz Eggers Gym.
Freedom led by eight points at the end of the third quarter, 45-37, and seemed to be breaking things open early, jumping to an 11-point lead senior point guard Peyton Caldwell netted a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the final stanza.
But stifling defense by the Pioneers created forced shots and turnovers by the Patriots. Meanwhile, Watauga capitalized on the turnovers at the other end.
Freedom’s Caldwell, who was the only Patriot to score in the decisive fourth quarter, tallied a game-high 36 points as the Morganton girls’ offensive seemed to run through Patriot veteran.
It just wasn’t enough against the deeper Watauga roster. Matheson poured in a team-high 21 points for Watauga, with Sears adding 15 and Darner 12. Nine of Darner’s dozen points came in the fourth quarter.
Watauga (16-5 overall, 8-1 in Northwestern Conference) closes out the regular season on Feb. 14, at home vs. High Country rival, Ashe County (9-13, 0-9). With a win, the Pioneers will clinch at least a share of the conference regular season title for the fourth straight season.
KEY PERFORMERS
WAT – Julie Matheson: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
WAT – Kate Sears: 15 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocked shots
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. LENOIR, N.C. — Watauga’s varsity men’s basketball team left few questions unanswered on Feb. 7 in cruising to a dominating, 62-30 shellacking of Hibriten.
This contest was only close at the tipoff. The Pioneers head coach, Bryson Payne, was able to empty his bench in this one. A full dozen rostered players, including a double-rostered junior varsity player, put points in the scoring column against the Panthers. The broad number of student athletes who saw court action explains why only one Pioneer, forward Jace Blocker, got into double figures with 11 points.
Watauga’s Josiah Railey (13) gets a dunk during the Pioneers’ 62-30 romp over Hibriten on Feb. 7. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
With four freshmen elevated to Hibriten head coach Ronshad Shabazz’s varsity roster, the young Panthers were largely overmatched but continued to battle throughout. Most of the Watauga regular rotation players were sitting by the start of the final period, with the Boone boys sporting a 48-22 lead. All of the Pioneer scoring in the fourth quarter was by non-starters.
Now 15-6 overall and 6-2 in conference, Watauga is in a 3-way tie for No. 1 in league standings, with South Caldwell and Freedom. They split with the Spartans in January, losing in Hudson on Jan. 9 (64-76) after leading late in the game, then winning handily in the friendly confines of Lentz Eggers Gym in the Jan. 31 rematch, 80-61. Watauga prevailed, 77-70, against Freedom at home on Jan. 22, and will look to complete the season sweep on Feb. 11, in Morganton. The Pioneers close out the regular season on Feb. 14 vs. Ashe County. Both South Caldwell and Watauga are vying for the Northwestern Conference’s No. 1 seed as the state playoffs approach.
Brady Lindenmuth (20) finishes a layup against Hibriten on Feb. 7. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — Try as they might, host Hibriten had few answers for visiting Watauga’s Kate Sears on Feb. 7. The Pioneers’ senior guard scored a game-high 31 points to lead Watauga to a comfortable, 57-45 win.
The Pioneers received even-handed offensive production from a supporting cast that included Julie Matheson and Blair Haines scoring seven points each, with Kaitlyn Darner and Chloe Wilson adding six points each.
Watauga’s Julie Matheson (1) goes up for a score vs. Hibriten on Feb. 7. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Basketball is often a game of “runs” and whichever team has the most runs is usually declared the winner when the final buzzer sounds. On this night, that was the Pioneers. They opened the game strong, but the Aamori Patterson-led Panthers struck back to briefly take the lead in the first quarter. That didn’t last for long as the visitors from Boone used a dominating, 22-12 performance in the second quarter to gain decisive separation.
Patterson helped keep the Panthers within some semblance of striking distance throughout the night, tallying a team-high 24 points and the only Hibriten player to reach double figures, scoring.
Now 15-5 overall and 7-1 in Northwestern Conference play — the lone conference loss a double overtime, 93-91 loss to South Caldwell on Jan. 31 — the Pioneers will look to close out the regular season next week at Freedom, in Morganton (Feb. 11) and vs. Ashe County on Feb. 14 in Lentz Eggers Gym.
By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — Getting hot from beyond the 3-point arc is often a formula for a basketball win. Combine that with suffocating defense, and victory is almost a certainty. With a whopping 10 made 3-pointers and disruptive defense, a Watauga men’s junior varsity win at Hibriten was never in doubt, 71-28.
Pioneer guard Cole Lewis lit up the hoop with six made 3-pointers, enroute to a game-high 20 points. Mason Tate added another pair of treys, contributing to a 13-point offensive performance. Forward Colby Whiteside also muscled his way into double figures, scoring 10 points, mostly from inside the paint.
A suffocating defensive effort by Watauga helped explain the Pioneers’ 71-28 win over Hibriten on Feb. 7. Here, Hibriten’s Deagon Ogborn (3) tries to get by Watauga guard Miller Hankins. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The Panthers had few answer for the Pioneers. Only Colin Cook could get things going on the offensive end for Hibriten — and only in the first half — on his way to tallying 11 points, the only Panther player to reach double figures.
Now 13-2 on the season and the two losses coming to non-conference opponents (T C Roberson and Northern Guilford), Watauga will challenge Freedom on Feb. 11, in Morganton, before hosting Ashe County on Feb.14 in the final regular season game.
By David Rogers. LENOIR, N.C. — Three Watauga players scored in double figures on Feb. 7, as the Pioneers used a dominating fourth quarter to pull away from Hibriten for a 44-29 win.
Watauga guard Stephanie Mendez was consistent throughout the four periods in recording a game-high 16 points, while Charlie Mattox came alive in the final stanza to pour in six of her 11 points on the night. Izzy Mohr’s offensive production in the first and third quarters propelled her to 12 points for the game.
Steph Mendez slips by a Hibriten defender on Feb. 7, for the score in Watauga’s 44-29 win. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
In the final analysis, though, it was the Pioneers’ suffocating defense in the fourth quarter that won the day. Clinging to a tenuous, 29-27 advantage at the end of the third quarter, Watauga allowed the Panthers to score only two points in the final period.
Hibriten was led by Makenzie Burgess’ 10 points and Matty Walker’s seven points.
Watauga is now 10-3 on the season, with two of those losses coming at the hands of Alexander Central and the other on the road against Ashe County. The Pioneers will close out the regular season against the Huskies on Feb. 14, but first they will have to deal with Freedom, in Morganton, on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
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. BOONE, N.C. — A strong rebounding performance by Watauga — and punishing defense — marked the Feb. 4 men’s basketball game between the Pioneers and visiting Alexander Central. In front of a packed Lentz Eggers Gym, Watauga throttled back the Cougars, 55-43.
The Pioneers’ senior forward Landon Smith drew the assignment of guarding AC’s all-everything guard Jayon Connor for most of the night. While the 6-5 junior guard scored almost 56 percent of Alexander Central’s 43 points, pouring in 24, the 6-4 Smith’s disruptive effort helped keep Connor somewhat neutralized and below his season averages in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
A massive student section helped propel Watauga to a convincing, 55-43 win over Alexander Central on Feb. 4. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
On the other end of the court, Smith neared double figures in scoring a season-high 9 points, adding to the featured scoring efforts of Jace Blocker (16 points), Josiah Railey (a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds) and Cade Keller (13 points).
Keller has been Watauga’s leading scorer for most of the 2024-25 season and Alexander Central was clearly aware of that, sometimes double-teaming the junior guard on the perimeter. But the combo threat (point guard and shooting guard) used the opportunity to find open teammates and recorded an impressive stat line regardless: 13 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. He hit on 5-of-6 free throws, mostly in the fourth quarter as the Cougars were desperately forced to foul in an effort to get the ball back.
It was Coaches vs. Cancer Night at Lentz Eggers Gym on Feb. 4, as Watauga hosted Alexander Central. Photographic image by David Rogers
The 55 points was Watauga’s lowest scoring output of the 2024-25 season (averaging 74 points), but the Pioneers’ disruptive defense allowed the team to post its fourth straight win at home, pushing the season’s overall record to 14-6, 5-2 in Northwestern Conference play. Now in a 3-way tie with South Caldwell and Freedom for first place in the league standings, Watauga needs to “win out” in the regular season to secure a high seeding and home court advantage in the 4A state playoffs.
Next up: at Hibriten on Friday, Feb. 7. Watauga defeated the young Panthers, 84-58, but Hibriten, under first year head coach and former App State star Ronshad Shabazz, will surely be looking to defend its home court and exact a measure of revenge.
Josiah Railey (13, in foreground) had a lot of help behind him for this 3-point shot vs. Alexander Central on Feb. 4. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
