App State pulled out a big win against the Queens Royals Tuesday night. The Mountaineers had a rocky start in the first half but eventually came back to take the victory, outscoring them 65-53.
Graduate student guard Jackson Threadgill, junior guard Dior Conners, senior forward Jalil Beaubrun, redshirt senior guard Myles Tate and graduate student forward CJ Huntley were the faces composing the Black and Gold’s starting five.
App State’s offense had a hard time scoring due to forward Malcolm Wilson. Wilson ended the night with 6 blocks. The starting five were quickly dismembered when Beaubrun left in the first three minutes.
The first three and a half minutes were scoreless but that was quickly shattered by a strong slam dunk from Huntley with an assist from Tate. The Mountaineers and the Royals were tied 8-8 with 11:53 left in the first half. Beaubrun left the game at 9:12 left in the half due to his 3 fouls.
Freshman forward Michael Marcus Jr. came into the game with three minutes left in the first half and immediately blocked his first shot.
As the first half was ending, the buzzer came down to just 1.6 seconds left and Tate took a risky step back three and pushed the lead for the Mountaineers. As the Black and Gold went into the second half they were up 31-24.
Huntley blew open the beginning of the second half with a powerful shot from the arc only a minute in. Threadgill struggled to find his rhythm, remaining scoreless for the first 26 minutes of the game. However, he sparked a moment of offense with a jumper, earning his first two points of the game.
Marcus got his fourth personal foul causing junior guard Jamil Muttilib to take over. Freshman guard Jason Clarke Jr. came in at 8:32 left in the second half to give Tate a well-deserved break on the bench.
Beaubrun fouled later in the second half and got replaced with defensive powerhouse Marcus. In the second half with 4:30 left, the Royals started to give their bench playing time.
Huntley exceeded his career-best points in a game, ultimately ending the night with 27. Tate and Huntley earned 46 of the total 65 points scored by the Mountaineers on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers did not shoot their best from the line, only making 16 out of 30 attempts putting their free throw percentage at 53.3%. From the arc, the Black and Gold shot 35.7%.
“A really hard-fought one over a really good program,” head coach Dustin Kerns said.
The Black and Gold hope to continue this momentum against William & Mary at home. This game will tip off at 1 p.m. on Sunday and can be live-streamed on ESPN+.
