Mountaineers

head back to S.C.
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

One of these days, Appalachian State is going to play a home game. Actually, that day is Saturday when the Mountaineers host Southern Conference North Division rival UNC Greensboro.

But before that day, the Mountaineers make another trip to South Carolina. This time, they’ll play at Wofford Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Mountaineers (7-6, 2-2 SoCon) are fresh off two victories in Charleston, S.C. They beat College of Charleston 70-66 last Thursday and whipped The Citadel 63-50 after taking a 20-point lead.

“I’m ready to be at home,” Fancher said. “We’ve played 11 of our 14 games on the road and I’m sure the guys are sick of me. They want to make the schedule next year.”

The Moun-taineers have found success recently on the road by winning three of their last four. They lost to East Tennessee State, but also beat Arkansas in late December.

They’ll take on a Wofford team (8-5, 1-2) that will try to beat them with a barrage of 3-point baskets. Shane Nichols (16.1 points per game) and Drew Gibson (10.8 ppg) are not shy when it comes to shooting the three.

Gibson has hit 19-of-38 from that range, while Nichols is 27-of-64. A third Terrier, Junior Salters, has hit 32-of-84 3-pointers.

“We’ll be chasing people all day,” Fancher said. “They run a great motion offense and those two guys (Nichols and Gibson) are both experienced and both can make plays.”

The Mountaineers have plenty of guys who have been making plays lately.

Point guard Donald Sims, who made his first start against East Tennessee State, made 28 straight foul shots before finally missing late in Appalachian State’s win over The Citadel. Sims leads the Southern Conference in foul shooting, hitting 39-of-43.

“When he got here, he was already the best shooter on the team and on campus,” Fancher said of the freshman. “He’s a shot maker. For somebody of his experience level, he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s got great court awareness and continues to get stronger and he’s going to get better.”

Appalachian State faces UNC Greensboro in a showdown against one of the top players in the conference in forward Kyle Hines.

“To me, you have to work on being physical with him,” Fancher said. “But he’s so big and so strong, he can make plays on you. He’s got those long arms, so he can also block shots on you.”

SoCon men
North Division
                               Conf.      All
                               W L       W L
Chattanooga               5 0       10 5
UNC Greensboro        3 1        9 4
Elon                          4 2        6 8
Appalachian State       2 2        7 6
Western Carolina        0 4       4 10
South Division
Davidson                   4 0         6 6
Georgia Southern       2 2         9 5
Coll. of Charleston     2 2         7 7
Wofford                    1 2         8 5
Furman                     1 4         2 12
The Citadel                0 5        5 9

Monday’s games:
UNC Greensboro 84, The Citadel 54
Wednesday’s game
Davidson at Elon, 9 p.m.
Thursday’s games:
Appalachian State at Wofford, 7 p.m.
Western Carolina at Furman, 7 p.m.
Chattanooga at UNCG, 7 p.m.
Ga. Southern at Coll. of Charleston, 7:30 p.m.