App State took down Ohio 72-59 Saturday, landing the Mountaineers at 1-1 in MAC-SBC Challenges on the season after falling to Miami (Ohio) in the home opener.
After possessing a slim lead for the majority of the first half, the Black and Gold surrendered a 6-0 run to close out the first 20 minutes and went into the break trailing 34-28.
The start of the second half saw the teams continue to exchange buckets. The game saw 10 ties and 6 lead changes, with the final tie coming at the 14-minute mark when the Bobcats knotted things up at 44.
The Mountaineers proceeded to turn the game on its head with a 13-0 run which included long balls from redshirt senior guard Myles Tate and junior guard Dior Conners.
Senior forward Jalil Beaubrun knocked in a free throw with 8:25 remaining to punctuate the stretch.
The 57-44 lead proved insurmountable as App State stayed in rhythm all the way to the final whistle.
Tate poured in a career high 27 points, drilling a step back triple with 13 seconds on the clock to cap off the performance. Conners poured in 14 points of his own on 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
The 44 points App State posted in the second half came in large part from stellar shooting as the team shot 56% from the field and 50% from three in the half.
The win pushes App State’s win streak to three. The game also serves as the 23rd consecutive win for the Mountaineers when holding opponents to 60 points or fewer.
App State is now 15-9 and tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference standings at 8-4.
They will continue their road trip Thursday at 7 p.m. with a contest against Coastal Carolina. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.