– The Appalachian

News, Politics

February 22, 2025

Redshirt freshman center Luke Wilson shoots a free throw during the App State vs. Georgia Southern game on Feb. 20.

App State men’s basketball shut down the Georgia Southern Eagles in overtime to earn a 79-74 win Thursday.

Graduate student forward CJ Huntley opened the game with a hook layup within the first 12 seconds. A steal by redshirt senior guard Myles Tate set the tone for the strong defense that would ensue.

While there was 15 minutes left in the first half, senior forward Jalil Beaubrun gave App State fans a reason to get out of their seat when a flagrant was called on forward Nakavieon White for the Eagles.

The Black and Gold’s defense in the paint was hard to maneuver around, causing the Eagles to foul when they went inside. App State entered the bonus with 7:45 left in the first.

As the first half started to wane, the Eagles got the Mountaineers within 2, leaving the score 32-30.

Tate and Huntley had a combined 9 points in less than two minutes to end the half 40-35.

The locker room visit after halftime generated the momentum the Black and Gold needed to push some quiet players to make powerful shots from beyond the arc, such as graduate student guard Jackson Threadgill and junior guard Alonzo Dodd.

Huntley had a big dunk to extend the lead 62-58 with 7:24 left in the second half.

When the win was in reach for the Mountaineers, the Eagles came back and made the score 68-66 with 1:32 seconds left. Tate missed a jumper to win the game and Georgia Southern grabbed the rebound and scored, causing the game to go into overtime.

Redshirt freshman center Luke Wilson was a big asset in overtime keeping the Eagles offense relatively scoreless for the first two minutes in OT.

Free throws were a key component to break away from the Eagles. The Mountaineers were leading 76-69 with one minute left.

Huntley and Tate had a combined 51 points against the Eagles. Wilson was a powerful bench player scoring 7 points, 5 rebounds and making 5 of 6 free throws for the Black and Gold.

“We’re taking it one game at a time,” said head coach Dustin Kerns.

Georgia Southern and App State have gone into overtime for the past three games during this rivalry.

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