The Mountaineers fought hard at Holmes Convocation Center Wednesday and pulled out a win against the St. Andrews Knights. They crushed the Knights ending the game with a score of 108-54.
Graduate student guard Jackson Threadgill, redshirt freshman center Luke Wilson, junior guard Jamil Muttilib, redshirt sophomore guard Myles Tate and graduate student forward CJ Huntley were the Black and Gold’s starting five.
App State tipped off and got the ball. Muttilib received a quick pass and sank his first three from the arc as a Mountaineer. The Mountaineers’ starting five held the Knights scoreless on a 7-0 run for the first minute and a half after tipoff.
The first of many big blocks of the night came from Muttilib, which gave the Mountaineers a turnover. Junior guard Alonzo Dodd came in after just two minutes, drew another foul on the Knights, and shot 4 for 4 from the free throw line.
The starting five came out and gave junior forward Ben Ezeagu, graduate student guard Will Coble, junior guard Dior Conners, freshman guard Anthony Alston and freshman forward Michael Marcus Jr. time to shine.
Marcus quickly showed the Mountaineers he’s a powerhouse not only on defense but as an offensive player as well, adding 10 points to the score before ending the first half.
At halftime, App State had 55 while the Knights trailed behind with 27. After coming back to the court, the Mountaineers held St. Andrews with 17-0 after halftime.
Alston scored his first big points in the game with a step-back three. Conners answered Alston with a back-to-back shot from the arc putting the Black and Gold up significantly. Marcus blocked his fourth shot of the game, sending the ball into the stands.
Sophomore guard Luke Ledford, freshman guard Cameron O’Kelley and freshman guard Jonah Long came into the game with five minutes left. Ledford saw action in five games last season but this was the longest he has been on the Mountaineers’ court. The three of them made up 10 App State points on the scoreboard in those last five minutes.
The entire App State roster saw playing time and everyone scored
at least once. Marcus was the light of the team, scoring 18 points and four blocks. Huntley and Ezeagu followed closely behind with 15 and 12 points of their own. The bench contributed to 68 of the 108 points in Wednesday’s game. The Mountaineers shot 64.5% from the line and 40% from behind the arc.
“When everybody plays and everybody scores, that locker room is even better,” head coach Dustin Kerns said.
The Mountaineers look to continue this win with a matchup against Wisconsin at Madison on Sunday. This game will tip off at 11 a.m. and will be streamed live on B1G+.
