By Zach Smith. BOONE, N.C. — Temperatures in Boone were frigid Wednesday (Jan. 17). App State men’s basketball remained hot. The Mountaineers continued their early season campaign, defeating Georgia State, 76-68.
App State was once again led by junior forward Tre’Von Spillers, who posted his fifth double-double of the 2023-24 campaign. Spillers’ 23 points and 13 rebounds were both team-highs, while fellow junior transfer Myles Tate was the key distributor for the Mountaineers, dishing out six assists to go along with his 15 points. Fifth-year forward Donovan Gregory grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds.
Georgia State guards Brenden Tucker and Lucas Taylor each scored 12 points, tied for team-best. Forward Jay’Den Turner pulled 12 rebounds for the Panthers.
Fans of defensive, low-scoring basketball loved the opening five minutes of the game. Following a combined six misses from the field, the first points were scored just under two minutes in, via a dunk by Spillers. The slam was the first of six from the JUCO transfer. Neither team could pull away, though, and the first media break came as the score was just 5-4 in App State’s favor.
“We feel like that’s our identity”
The score remained close for most of the half, until the Mountaineers went on their first of two 7-0 runs in the period with 6:18 remaining. More back-and-forth scoring followed before the home side went on their second run of seven consecutive points. The second run earned the Mountaineers an 11-point lead, their largest of the day. Entering halftime, App State led, 39-30.
Georgia State’s first-half scoring troubles were centered around an abysmal 13% clip from beyond the arc. That changed quickly in the second half, as Turner drained a long-range shot to score the period’s first points. App State was able to extend their lead back to 11, but the Panthers earned the next eight consecutive points to cut the Mountaineer lead to three. Just over 90 seconds later, Turner converted on another three-pointer, tying the game for the first time since the game’s opening bucket. App State was then able to score 11 of the next 14 points to widen the gap to nine points and, following back-to-back Georgia State shots from deep, the Mountaineers put the game away.
App State head coach Dustin Kerns shared his thoughts on his team’s performance, post-game.
“Really proud of our guys. Hard-fought win against a really good team,” Kerns said. “They’ve been arguably one of the hottest teams in the league and we had to play really, really well to win this game.”
Kerns gave an insight into how he prepares his team for a more physical matchup.
“We try to be the more physical team. We talk about it all the time,” Kerns said. “We feel that if we play as hard as we can, as physical as we can, we can wear down teams.”
That’s the sign of a really good team.
All nine Mountaineers that saw action against Georgia State recorded at least two points. Kerns spoke on what that means for him, as well how important it is for the team.
“I think that we’ve got nine starters,” Kerns said. “We’ve had that, where we’ve had a couple guys out for certain reasons and, you know, guys step up. Our depth is our strength. Everybody scored, everybody had double-digit minutes, it’s great. That’s a sign of a really good team.”
Defense has been a large part of App State’s success, and played a key role in holding Georgia State off in the closing minutes. Myles Tate spoke on the conversation between Kerns and the players heading into the final stretch of the game.
“Coach Kerns always tells us ‘We’re gonna win the game on defense,’” Tate said. “We keep that in our mind as we go back on the floor and we try to get as many stops as we can. The offense is gonna come because we’ve got good players and we all can make plays. If we can just get stops down the stretch, offense will be easy.”
Kerns echoed that thought and gave credit to his players for shutting Georgia State down in the closing stretch.
“We feel like that’s our identity,” Kerns said. “We held a team that’s been scoring the ball really, really well, they shoot the ball really, really well.”
Despite Georgia State’s three-point shooting turnaround in the second half, App State was able to hold on for the victory. Kerns shared what he spoke to his team about down the stretch.
“One of the things we emphasize is next-play mentality,” Kerns said. “It’s basketball, things are gonna happen. You’re gonna throw the thing out of bounds a few times, you’re gonna miss some shots, but so is the other team. We told them ‘listen, they are gonna make threes, next play mentality. We can’t not play well the next possession because they just made a three.’ That’s one of their strengths, they really shoot the ball really, really well.”
As a team, App State shot 45% from the field, despite their below-average 27% mark from deep. The Mountaineers rode their 17 offensive boards to out-rebound the Panthers, 51-36. App State solidified their position as the third-best shot-blocking team in the country, swatting away seven Georgia State shots.
With the loss, Georgia State falls to 9-8 overall and 4-2 in the Sun Belt. The Panthers look to bounce back Saturday (Jan. 20) as they travel to Statesboro, GA for an in-state matchup with Georgia Southern. Tip-off is set for 3:00p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Wednesday’s game marked the first of a four-game homestand for the 14-4 Mountaineers. Coastal Carolina will be the next to attempt to hand App State their first loss at the Holmes Convocation Center Saturday. The game will be the second of an App State basketball doubleheader with the women’s team, and will tip-off at 4:30p.m.. Both of Saturday’s App State matchups can be streamed on ESPN+.
