By Jacob Plecker. MADISON, Wisc. — In the program’s first trip to Wisconsin since Dec. 2002, the App State Mountaineers (1-2) fell 87-56 against traditional Big Ten power Wisconsin (3-0) at the Kohl Center on Sunday.
The 31-point loss was App State’s largest loss against a high-major opponent in the Kerns era since falling by 41 against the tenth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in 2020.
App State got off to a hot start against the Badgers, leading by as many as nine points in the first half but a 24-0 run from Wisconsin helped them come from behind to take the lead. The Badgers never looked back, going in front by as many as 34 points in the game.
Despite the outcome, Jackson Threadgill and CJ Huntley both eclipsed double figures. Threadgill’s 11 points marked his first double-digit point outing as a Mountaineer. Jalil Beaubrun returned from a one-game absence and made his second Mountaineer start against the Badgers, tallying nine points and grabbing five rebounds.
The Mountaineer bench played well again on Sunday, scoring 18 points. App State has scored at least 15 bench points in every game this season. Overall, nine Mountaineers scored in the game.
How it Happened
App State’s first ever game against Wisconsin saw the Mountaineers start well as Beaubrun scored the game’s first points off a turn-around hook shot in the paint. The Badgers tallied their first points to tie it, but Threadgill answered from behind the 3-point arc to give the Mountaineers a 5-2 lead with 17 minutes remaining in the half.
Strong play defensively helped the Mountaineers claim a six-point lead by the 14:40 mark as the Badgers missed two of their first five shots. Five straight points from Myles Tate and an alley-oop slam by CJ Huntley kept App State in front by six before Anthony Alston’s three extended the lead to nine by the under-12 timeout.
Another Threadgill basket kept the lead at nine, but Wisconsin was able to compose itself and go on a run to close the gap. Makes by Badgers Nolan Winter and Stephen Crowl tied the game by the under-eight timeout and the Badger crowd of more than 14,000 started to get loud.
Wisconsin continued to apply pressure on the Mountaineer offense, forcing five turnovers and nine straight misses to claim a lead of seven points by the 6:09 mark. The Badgers tallied 11 points off 13 Mountaineer turnovers in the first half.
A three-pointer from Huntley finally ended the large Badger run but Wisconsin used a 24-0 run to take a 32-17 lead with three minutes to play in the opening frame. When the first-half horn sounded, the Badgers led by 16 points.
Five different Mountaineers tallied a basket in the first half with Huntley, Threadgill and Tate leading the charge with five apiece. App State shot it well from the three-point line in the opening half, nailing four of its 11 attempts.
Beaubrun opened the second half with a free throw to start his strong second-half outing and closed the gap to 15. The Mountaineers buried their first two shot attempts out of the halftime break.
But the Badgers pushed their lead to 19 by the 17:24 mark as Stephen Crowl tallied his point No. 15 of the game. A John Tonje driving layup bumped the App State deficit to 20 by the first media timeout.
Alonzo Dodd and Luke Wilson provided a second-half spark to shrink the deficit. Dodd made a tough floater over Crowl before Wilson powered home a ferocious two-handed dunk.
After a Beaubrun layup with 11 minutes to play, Wisconsin took control once again, scoring nine straight points to take a 30-point lead by the under-eight break. A Threadgill floater ended the scoring drought as he tallied four straight points before the timeout.
Wisconsin’s Jack Robison3-pointer with 12 seconds to play gave the Badgers their largest lead of the game at 34, but App State’s Jason Clarke Jr. countered with his first collegiate three, the shot rattling home before the buzzer to give Wisconsin a 31-point win.
Top Performers
Two players reached double-figures for the Mountaineers in the game in CJ Huntley and Jackson Threadgill. Huntley’s 13 points led the team as he shot it well, hitting four of his seven shots and three three-pointers. Threadgill also shot it well, nailing 11 points on 5-8 shooting. Beaubrun’s one-game absence didn’t bother him much as he recorded nine points on the night.
Next up for App State, the Mountaineers will host Queens University on Nov. 19, with tipoff slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Holmes Center.
