After an eight day rest period, App State men’s basketball traveled to Greenville, North Carolina to face off against the East Carolina University Pirates. Their last meeting came in 2019, a contest the Black and Gold won 68-62, and the Mountaineers carried that momentum into the 2025 season with a 67–54 victory.
Graduate student guard Kasen Jennings scored the first 3 points from the free throw line after being fouled from beyond the arc.
App State dominated the offensive glass as they pulled down 5 rebounds in just under three minutes, leaving the Pirates scoreless on a 11-0 run.
Senior guard Alonzo Dodd added an early surge with an and-1 to put the Black and Gold up 13-5 with under 12 minutes left of play. Moments later, sophomore guard Jason Clarke Jr. converted on another and-1.
Despite strong interior play, the Mountaineers started 0-11 from beyond the arc with just over eight minutes left in the first.
Turnovers were the name of the game in the first half. App State had their largest lead of the game at 28-13 with just over three minutes left. They headed into the locker room with a 16 point advantage on the Pirates at 33-17. Redshirt sophomore center Luke Wilson recorded 5 offensive rebounds, keeping the defense to continue to excel. Both Jennings and Dodd scored 11 points in the half.
The Pirates seemed more energized coming out of the locker room as they had 1 block and forced 2 turnovers in just under two minutes. A lazy pass led to a quick steal and a second shot from three, putting the Pirates back in the game at 38-30 with under 16 minutes left of the game.
After poor ball movement, a shot clock violation on App State sent head coach Dustin Kerns back in his seat after standing the entirety of the game.
Jennings then steadied the Mountaineers, reaching 18 points midway through the second half. But ECU refused to go away, clawing back to make it a three point game with just under nine minutes left giving the Pirates multiple second chance looks.
Wilson then delivered a momentum shifting play, powering through both ECU bigs to finish a tough layup at the rim.
App State went on an 8-0 run in the last 90 seconds breaking the drought setting them at 63-52 with over two minutes left.
App State came out on top with a 67-54 win. Wilson was the only player on the roster to record a double-double, but Dodd, Jennings and Clarke Jr. all had big minutes throughout the game. The Mountaineers ended their night with 41 rebounds compared to the Pirates’ 32. Only four players were sent to the free throw line, but came out with a 67% shooting average.
App State will head to a neutral ground to play the High Point University Panthers Sunday. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
