MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Appalachian State shot a blistering 68.4 percent from the field and staved off a late Middle Tennessee rally to claim an 84-79 victory in the final game of the First Shot Exempt Tournament Saturday evening. Jeremy Clayton led all scorers with 15 points as one of five Mountaineers in double figures.

The Mountaineers (2-2) beat Limpscomb on Thursday, but fell to San Jose State Friday night.

Kellen Brand scored 13 points, while Doug McLaughlin-Williams had 12 points on four 3-pointers, including a pair during a critical 10-0 ASU run against Middle Tennessee State. Donte Minter and Eduardo Bermudez each had 11 points.

The Blue Raiders (1-2) were paced by Kevin Kanaskie’s 14 points. Hudson Theryn finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. Middle Tennessee shot shot 43 percent in the loss and took 29 more shots than the Mountaineers from the floor.

Appalachian State led by as many as nine points in the opening half, but Middle Tennessee State trimmed that margin to four, 35-31, at halftime despite the Mountaineers shooting 77.8 percent in the opening half.

Middle Tennessee State needed 4:47 in the second half to take a 43-41 lead. The teams traded baskets for the next 7:33 until Appalachian State started its 10-0 run that would give it a 13-point, 71-58 lead with 6:03 left to play.

McLaughlin-Williams scored six of Appalachian State’s points on 3-pointers during the spurt and Clayton added the other four with a jumper and a pair of free throws.

The Mountaineers extended their lead to 15 with 2:13 left on a set of Donald Sims free throws. However, the home squad did not go down without a fight, pulling within five, 80-75, on a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left.

Middle Tennessee State’s comeback hopes forced it to foul in the waning seconds and Brand calmly drained four free throws in the final 30 seconds to preserve the win against head coach Houston Fancher’s alma mater.

Appalachian State plays at Campbell Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m.