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App State Snaps Four-Game Skid in Convincing Fashion – App State Athletics

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App State Snaps Four-Game Skid in Convincing Fashion – App State Athletics

BOONE, N.C. –  On a snowy Saturday afternoon in the High Country, a hot shooting night from App State (7-7, 1-2) helped guide it to its first Sun Belt Conference win in 2024-25 as it took down the Texas State Bobcats (8-7, 1-2 SBC) 72-61 at the Holmes Center. The Mountaineers shot 53 percent from the field and 54 percent from behind the arc, which was the team’s highest 3-point percentage in a game this season.
 
Along with the Mountaineers’ hot shooting, defense played a large role against the Bobcats as they shot just 37 percent from the field and 36 percent from three. Entering the game, Texas State paced the Sun Belt in both field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage, but flying hands and swift footwork allowed App State to contest every shot and stay in front of every man.
 
In what was his 136th career game in the Black and Gold, CJ Huntley did something he’s never done before as he recorded his first collegiate double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Additionally, Myles Tate racked up his third consecutive 20-point game and sixth of the season as he paced all scorers with 22. App State also saw four different players make a three, which includes a 3-4 night from Jackson Threadgill off the bench. His three 3-pointers are the most he has made in a game this season.
 
With the win over the Bobcats, head coach Dustin Kerns moved into the top five at App State in wins with 104, breaking a tie with Buzz Peterson on that list. He became the third-fastest Mountaineer head coach to reach 100 wins with the victory over William & Mary on Nov. 24. He is one of just seven coaches in program history to reach 100 wins with the Mountaineers.
 
How it Happened
Braving the elements and a frigid day in Boone, Huntley treated the Mountaineer crowd of 2,512 to the game’s first basket, sealing his defender and hooking in a shot from the low block. App State quickly went ahead by five as Tate took a feed from Huntley at the left wing and canned a three, his first of four for the game.
 
Texas State quickly tied the contest at five apiece at the 16:51 mark thanks to baskets from Drue Drinnon and Tyrel Morgan. The Bobcats then took their first lead of the game at 7-5 off another Morgan make, sending action to the first media timeout of the half. Texas State’s brief two-point advantage was the only time it led in the game.
 
A pair of Huntley free throws tied the contest once again before Alonzo Dodd, who made his third consecutive start against the Bobcats, sunk a three off a pretty feed from Tate. Less than 30 seconds later, the Mountaineer lead swelled to seven as Huntley and Tate found the hoop to cap off a 9-0 run.
 
Despite the hot shooting start from the Mountaineers, Texas State didn’t let things get out of hand as it accounted for five straight points before the under-12 timeout to make it a two-point game. But App State answered right back with seven straight of its own to jump ahead by nine at the 10:18 mark. Threadgill helped ignite the run as he received a perfect pass from Huntley and knocked down a three from the corner before Tate drilled his second three.
 

 
The Mountaineer lead quickly grew over double-digits for the first time as Dior Conners found himself open from the wing and inserted the Mountaineers’ fifth three of the game to that point through the bottom of the net. This three forced a Bobcat timeout, but that didn’t stop App State’s hot shooting as Dodd made the sixth three of the half late in the shot clock to put the Mountaineers up 11 out of the under-eight timeout.
 
App State maintained its double-digit lead through the next media timeout as Jalil Beaubrun got in on the action for his first points. Not backing down from App State, Morgan accounted for five straight points to close the Bobcat deficit back to six with 2:23 to play in the first.
 
Both teams combined for just two points over the final two minutes of the first half, and those two points came from Dodd as he shimmied his way into the paint for a score, his 10th points of the half. When the buzzer sounded, the Mountaineers led by eight.
 
Tate, Dodd and Huntley combined to score 29 of the Mountaineers’ 38 first-half points, but it was the hot shooting by App State that told the story of the first 20 minutes. The Mountaineers attempted 27 shots and made 14 of them, which included seven 3-pointers. Defensively, the Mountaineers locked in and forced six Bobcat turnovers, which led to 10 App State points.
 
Out of the halftime break, App State’s lead surged to 12 points in just 95 seconds as Tate and Beaubrun scored easy baskets. This forced a timeout from Terrence Johnson, but that didn’t stop the Mountaineers as they went ahead by 14, their largest lead to that point, after Huntley found an opening for a score.
 
Texas State kept its deficit to that as play continued, but when it trimmed the App State lead back to 11, Threadgill’s second three rang the net, pushing the Mountaineers back up by 14 with 13:32 to play.
 
The third Threadgill three of the game brought the Mountaineer crowd to its feet as he ballooned the advantage up to 17. Tate’s 18th points of the game gave App State a 19-point lead, but after a Tylan Pope basket, the Mountaineers went ahead by a game-best 20 thanks to Conners’ second three of the game. It was App State’s largest lead against a Division I team since Nov. 29 against Colgate when App State led by as much as 22.
 

 
After the under-eight timeout, the Bobcats started to creep back into the game as Dylan Dawson found himself loose from the 3-point line and buried three threes in a 90-second span. This brought Texas State within 13 points. A third three from Conners quieted the surge, but Morgan’s layup made it an 11-point game with three minutes to play.
 
Needing a spark to close the game out, App State turned to Tate who canned each of his next two shots to put a bow on a hard-fought win. Texas State did score the game’s final four points, but it didn’t matter as App State won 72-61. It was the team’s first win since Dec. 3 and first Sun Belt victory of the year.
 

Top Performers 
Hot shooting from both the field and the 3-point line helped three Mountaineers into double figures against the Bobcats. Nobody scored more than Tate in the game as his 22 points marked his third straight game with 20 or more points. He also added six assists and seven rebounds to his scoring. Dodd’s 14 points marked his second double-digit scoring game in his last three outings and the fourth since Dec. 3. In his 136th game in the Black and Gold, Huntley recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. It was the fourth double-double by a Mountaineer this season.
 
Up Next
App State will kick off its Sun Belt East schedule next Wednesday as they welcome the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to Boone. It will be the first of two matchups this season between Coastal Carolina and App State. Tipoff from the Holmes Center is slated for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
 
The 2024-25 men’s basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
 

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