App State men’s basketball returned to the Holmes Convocation Center after a four-game road trip Wednesday night as they defeated Georgia State 76-68.
“We try to be the most physical team,” said head coach Dustin Kerns. “We feel like if we play as hard as we can and as physical as we can, then we can wear down teams.”
The Mountaineers showed their physicality, totalling seven blocks with sophomore forward Justin Abson getting three blocks on his own. The Black and Gold rank third in the country in blocks per game.
App State was led by junior forward Tre’Von Spillers, who tied his season-high with 23 points along with another season-high of 13 rebounds.
Junior guard Myles Tate provided a spark off the bench, scoring 15 points along with six assists and six rebounds.
The Black and Gold never trailed in the game as their defense held Georgia State to just 1/8 from three in the first half. App State went on a 7-0 run with four minutes remaining in the first half, helping them to a nine point lead going into halftime.
Georgia State came into the second half with more offensive intensity. They went 9/20 from three, which allowed them to tie the game at 53 with nine minutes remaining. Spillers scored 10 points in the last nine minutes to help the Black and Gold get out to a four-point lead with a minute remaining.
“We try to get as many stops as we can,” Tate said. “The offense is going to come cause we’ve got good players that can make good plays.”
Tate hit four clutch free throws to ice the game late against the Panthers. The win against Georgia State is the Mountaineers first game out of a four-game home stretch.
“It means a lot that we have a lot of supporters. It means we’re being held to a higher standard, so it means we have to bring a lot of intensity to every home game,” Spillers said when asked about fan attendance.
The Black and Gold improved to 5-1 in conference play, and 14-4 overall. This is their best start to a season since 1988 when Tom Apke was head coach.
App State returns to action Saturday, as they will face Coastal Carolina in Boone. The game will tip-off at 4:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
