Ervin earns honor
From staff reports

Last Tuesday, Appalachian State wrestler Scott Ervin captured his second tournament title of the season. A day later, he earned SoCon wrestler of the week honors. The Mountaineer senior earns his first conference honor since being named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2007 SoCon Championships.

The Weatherford, Okla. native had a banner week posting a 7-0 record in two events. At the Buffalo tri-meet, he dispatched his opponents from Bloomsburg and the University of Buffalo by 8-0 and 7-2 margins.

Following the tri-meet Dec. 15, Ervin along with the rest of the Mountaineers traveled out west to Reno, Nev. for the Reno Tournament of Champions.

Ervin earned the top seed thanks to his 14th place ranking in the new NWCA Division I rankings. With a path laid to the finals, Ervin won all four matches against unseeded and unranked opposition in the 149-pound class. In the finals, Ervin met the No. 2 seed Morgan Atkinson from Cal State Fullerton (ranked No. 11 in the NWCA poll). Ervin took the 11-8 victory to win the championship.

He adds the Reno Tournament of Champions crown to his title earlier this season at the prestigious Keystone Classic, held in the famous Palaestra in Philadelphia, Pa. Ervin and his Mountaineer teammates will now break for the holidays before competing at the Southern Scuffle hosted by UNC Greensboro on Dec. 29-30.

Women’s basketball
ORLANDO, Fla. — Appalachian State saw its 13-point halftime lead slowly dissolve last Thursday night, as the Mountaineers fell 66-62 to La Salle in the conclusion of the UCF Holiday Classic.

Three Mountaineers scored in double figures but the team was unable to secure a second straight win.

The Mountaineers (2-8) went on a 16-0 run spanning seven minutes to take a 28-16 lead with three minutes remaining before the intermission.

Whitney Randolph and GiGi Thomas each drained four buckets in the first half to lead the team with eight points each. ASU shot 55.2 percent from the floor in the opening period on 16-for-29 shooting. Defensively, the team held La Salle to just nine field goals and a season-low 23 points.

Thomas finished with 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting along with a team-high four steals. Whitney Tossie posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards to go with her team-leading three assists.