Women rally late

Junior guard Bria Huffman drained a shot in the game’s final 10 seconds and the Mountaineers defense stood tall on the other end of the floor as time expired to help knock off Arkansas State 70-69 in Boone.

The Mountaineers started off strong as senior forward Maryah Sydnor led them with the team’s first eight points. App State faded after leading by as many as six, however, and went into halftime trailing 37-26.

In the first half, the Mountaineers shot 34 percent while Arkansas State compiled a 43 percent shooting percentage.

The Red Wolves led by as many as 15 in the second half, but App State rallied as they went on a 10-2 run in the game’s final five minutes to allow Huffman to stun the visitors with a late dagger.

On the other end of the floor, the Red Wolves attempted a shot in the paint as they trailed 70-69, but junior forward Ashley Bassett-Smith denied a shot from redshirt junior guard Aundrea Gamble to safely preserve the Mountaineers’ victory.

Bassett-Smith finished with a team-high four blocks on the night, a key part of her identity as a player, head coach Angel Elderkin said.

“She loves to block shots, we talk about it all the time,” Elderkin said. “We are third in the [Sun Belt] in blocked shots and she wants us to be first. That’s kind of her thing. So to be able to come in, know your role and do it to win a game is really great.”

Bassett-Smith’s blocks were a big part of the App State victory, but Sydnor and senior guard Katie Mallow were the most efficient scorers for the Mountaineers, combining for 43 points.

Mallow was the only App State player to score from 3-point range, going 5-10 from behind the arc on the night.

“I air balled few shots before I went on a run, but every time it’s a new shot,” Mallow said.

The win moves App State up to 7-7 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt. The win is the team’s third in their past four games.

The Mountaineers hit the floor again Saturday in the front half of another doubleheader with the men, as both squads battle Sun Belt foe Georgia State. The game will begin at 1 p.m.

“Now, everyone in our league knows that we can play with the best of them,” Sydnor said. “People need to be ready because we’re playing the full 40.”

Men can’t shake shooting woes

App State men’s basketball fell behind Arkansas State and couldn’t find enough baskets to claw their way back, falling 59-50 at home to the Red Wolves- a team they defeated on the road earlier in the season.

The Mountaineers played a solid first half, going back and forth with the lead changing seven times. At halftime, App State trailed 29-27 and had no scorers in double figures.

Junior guard Frank Eaves led the way in the first half with nine points, but the second half was a different story for App State, who never led in the game’s final 20 minutes.

“We definitely had a lot of opportunities to make shots,” Eaves said. “It comes down to we have to make shots. If we don’t make shots and execute, there’s nothing you can do about that. It was a tough shooting night.”

The Mountaineers shot just 26 percent from the field in the first half, including a 12 percent (2-17) mark from 3-point range. In the second half, however, the team shot 35 percent, and cut their number of 3-pointers down to just six, making two of them in the half.

On the day, App State shot 29 percent from the field, but head coach Jim Fox said the team was getting open looks, they were just unable to knock enough down.

“Not really much to say, we have to be able to score and we couldn’t do that today,” Fox said. “I thought we got looks, both inside and outside. When [Arkansas State] put three guys on the guys in the post, you have to be able to kick the ball out and we did that, we just missed the outside shots.”

Eaves led all scorers with 13 points, and was joined in double figures by fifth-year senior forward Tommy Spagnolo, who chipped in 10 points in a double-double effort that saw him also pull down a team-high 12 rebounds.

The Mountaineers bench outscored the Red Wolves’ 19-2, led by freshman guard Jake Babic, who led all non-starters with eight points, including a 3-7 mark from the field while also pulling down four rebounds, which was first among App State’s guards.

“I’m the tallest guard that we have,” Babic said. “Me being aggressive takes pressure off of the bigs.”

The loss drops App State to 4-10 overall and 1-4 in the conference.

The team is back in action Saturday in Boone as they host another Sun Belt foe in Georgia State. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

“We’re going to go over our offense and execution,” Eaves said. “When it comes down to it, we have to execute on the offensive end and the defensive end. We have to continue to work on ourselves.”

Story: Cory Spiers, Sports Editor

Photo: Justin Perry, Web Manager