Fast start lifts

ASU over Greensboro
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

It only took Appalachian State 11 minutes to build a 22-point lead on UNC Grensboro. From there, UNCG had no chance against the Mountaineers.

Appalachian State shot a blistering 68 percent during that stretch and held the cold-shooting Spartans to just 15 percent. It allowed the Mountaineers to bury UNCG 91-68 in front of 1,954 fans Saturday at the Holmes Center.

Appalachian State (9-6, 4-2 SoCon), winners of four straight and six of its last eight games, made 11 of its first 16 shots in racing to a 30-8 lead. The Mountaineers’ success can be linked to their defense of UNCG’s talented 6-foot-6 forward Kyle Hines, who was held to 2-of-10 shooting by the time the Spartans (9-6, 3-3) called timeout with 8:56 left in the first half.

Hines finished the game with 20 points, but was never a factor in the game’s outcome. That had already been decided when the Mountaineers broke open a 4-4 game by going on a 26-4 run during a 10-minute stretch of the first half, giving them their 30-8 advantage.

“It was a great early outburst,” Mountaineers coach Houston Fancher said. “We’ve been (home) three times and have not played very well. We’ve got to be patient with ourselves here. We’re continuing to grow and continuing to get better. They’ve been away from here so long that I couldn’t hold them back any longer.

They were ready to get out here and play and have people cheering for them instead of against them. They got excited about being back in the Holmes Center today and really exercised some dominance today.”

Appalachian State’s backcourt provided most of the scoring the Mountaineers needed. Jeremi Booth came off the bench to score 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting. Four of those baskets were 3-pointers and all five shots were taken in the first half. He also hit two free throws.

Backup point guard Ryann Abraham came off the bench to score 15 points, while starting point guard, Donald Sims, scored 14. Shooting guard Kellen Brand added nine points, giving the Mountaineers top-scoring guards 54 combined points.

“It’s sort of a combo deal there, those two guys playing together,” Fancher said of his two point guards. “It’s about their ability to shoot the ball and shoot the ball from the free-throw line. It keeps pressure on defenses.”
Appalachian State’s frontcourt players didn’t necessarily take the day off. Donte Minter scored 11 points in 17 minutes work. He also had to contend with Hines, and did so early on by blocking Hines’ first shot. It was one of four blocked shots for Minter, who also had five rebounds.

Jeremy Clayton, who also took a turn at guarding Hines, scored eight points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Davis Bowne (five rebounds, three points) and Isaac Butts (four points, two boards) also took turns at Hines, who scored seven first-half points on 3-of-12 shooting.

“It’s hard to contain a guy like that,” Minter said. “You’ve just got to play him physical.”

Hines, who also led the Spartans with nine rebounds, confessed to being somewhat frustrated at how the beginning of the game went.

“I think they had a lot to do with it,” Hines said. “I missed my first couple and they were definitely physical. I missed my first couple and I think I got frustrated. I think I kind of let my emotions get the best of me rather than just keep playing.”

The Mountaineers led 46-30 at halftime and though Greensboro never came close to putting Appalachian’s lead in danger, the Spartans did make a run at the lead in the second half. After Appalachian took a 53-32 lead, Greensboro got an old-fashioned three-point play from Hines and three 3-point buckets from Kendall Toney to pull to within 54-43.

The Spartans trailed 60-48 before Butts and Clayton both hit shots to push Appalachian State’s lead back to 64-48. It was 65-51 when Booth hit two foul shots, Minter tipped in a Brand miss and Brand laid in a Sims pass off a steal to claim a 71-51 lead and force a UNCG timeout with 7:22 left.

“They played exceptionally well,” UNC Greensboro coach Mike Dement said. “Their three wins on the road, as well as the Arkansas win, has given them tremendous confidence.”

Appalachian State faces Chattanooga Thursday at the Holmes Center. The Mocs lead the North Division with a 6-0 record and are 12-5 overall after their 85-55 win over Western Carolina Saturday.

App State 91, UNCG 68
UNC Greensboro (9-6, 3-3)
Stywall 3-8 4-6 10, Hines 9-20 2-5 20, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Koivisto 1-5 0-0 3, Oleksiak 1-6 2-3 5, Sellers 1-1 0-0 2, Clement 2-5 0-0 6, Oliver 2-3 2-4 6, Toney 5-11 0-0 13, Galic 1-4 0-1 3, Mitchell 0-0 0-2 0, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Hardiman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-65 10-21 68.
Appalachian State (9-6 4-2)
Clayton 3-6 2-2 8, Minter 5-5 1-2 11, Sims 5-9 0-0 14, Bermudez 0-2 3-4 3, Brand 3-10 2-2 9, Abraham 6-8 2-2 15, Archer 0-1 0-0 0, Booth 5-5 4-4 16, McMillan 0-1 0-0 0, Highsmith 1-2 0-0 3, Butts 2-3 0-0 4, Bowne 1-2 1-2 3, McLaughlin-Williams 33-56 13-16 91.
Halftime score—ASU 46, UNCG 30. 3-point goals—UNCG 8-23 (Toney 3-8, Clement 2-2, Oleksiak 1-2, Galic 1-3, Koivisto 1-4, Stywall 0-3, Oliver 0-1), ASU 12-23 (Booth 4-4, Sims 4-6, McLaughlin-Williams 1-1, Abraham 1-2, Highsmith 1-2, Brand 1-4, Clayton 0-1, Bremudez 0-1, Archer 0-1, McMillian 0-1). Rebounds—UNCG 28 (Hines 9), ASU 43 (Clayton 13). Assists—UNCG 18 (Johnson 6), ASU 22 (Abraham 5). Turnovers—UNCG 13, ASU 21. Total fouls—UNCG 17, ASU 21. Fouled out—None. Technical fouls—UNCG Oliver; ASU Brand. A—1,954.