By Zach Smith. BOONE, N.C. — A career-defining performance from graduate forward CJ Huntley led the Mountaineers over Queens Nov. 19. App State closed out a low-scoring battle with the Royals, winning 65-53, in front of 2,678paid attendance.
Huntley led the way for the Mountaineers with a career-high 27-point performance, while senior guard Myles Tate netted 19 of his own. Huntley and Tate both posted eight rebounds, also leading the team.
Queens had just one player reach double-digit points, freshman guard Asjon Anderson with 13. Senior center Malcolm Wilson used every inch of his seven-foot height on his way to blocking six shots and grabbing 10 rebounds.
The game began with three minutes of no score before Tate found Huntley on an alley-oop, before a deadlock at 4-4 entering the first media timeout. Later in the half, the Mountaineers found themselves trailing their visitors by five, 17-22. App State then went on a 14-2 run to close the opening period, punctuated by a dramatic buzzer-beater by Tate, a three-pointer just before time expired. The 3-pointer gave the Mountaineers a 31-24 lead at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, Huntley drained a three-pointer before App State went on a scoring drought of nearly three minutes. Fortunately for the hosts, Queens was able to make just one shot from the field during that stretch, a three-pointer off the hands of Anderson. Two Tate free-throws and another Anderson three-pointer later, the Mountaineers went on a 6-0 scoring run to extend their lead to 12. With just under four minutes on the clock, Huntley hit on a layup through traffic to secure his career-high in both points and field goals made. The 6-11 forward followed that up with a three-pointer to secure his 27th point of the night.
As a team, App State shot at a 47% mark, topping Queens’ 32% clip. The Mountaineers outrebounded the Royals, 43-39, and forced the visitors to shoot just 6-37 from beyond the arc.
App State head coach Dustin Kerns shared his thoughts on his team’s 65-53 victory postgame.
“Queens is a team that, I think, in three of the last five years have won 30 games,” Kerns said. “They’ve got a really good program, and a program of winning. So, a hard fought, App State kind of ‘grind it out’ win. Really proud of our guys.”
Kerns went on to speak of CJ Huntley’s performance in practice leading to his career night.
“He had a really good week of practice,” Kerns said. “When you talk to your players about the importance of practice and every rep, not taking those things for granted, it pays off. CJ is going to be a perfect example. [It will] be easy for me, when we get back with our team on Thursday (Nov. 21), to say ‘listen, we all know CJ practiced really well, and he played well.’ So, really proud of him.”
The Mountaineers kicked off a stretch of seven straight games in North Carolina with their victory over Queens, including a tournament series in Wilmington. Kerns spoke on the importance of playing in-state games.
“It’s very important for us to play in-state,” Kerns said. “Certainly, we try to. We’ve played a lot of teams in the Carolinas, a lot of teams in this region, so, certainly it’s very important. We’ve got so many passionate fans and alumni.”
Queens drops to 2-3 with the loss. The Royals look ahead to Nov. 23, when they face South Carolina-Upstate at East Tennessee State’s tournament. Tipoff is set for 6:00p.m..
App State improves to 2-2 with their victory. The Mountaineers face William & Mary Nov. 24, where Dustin Kerns looks to become the fourth-fasted Mountaineer head coach to reach 100 career wins. Tipoff at the Holmes Center is slated for 1:00p.m..
