A Thanksgiving-eve game sent App State men’s basketball to Macon, Georgia to play the Mercer University Bears. Mercer had a powerful second half, resulting in a 75-67 loss for the Mountaineers.
Redshirt sophomore center Luke Wilson got the scoring started with a swift layup but the Bears responded later with a 3-pointer to start the momentum.
A scoreless two minutes drew up powerful defense from both sides. The Black and Gold led 8-5 with just under 14 minutes left in the first half.
An early turnover gave junior forward Chad Moodie back-to-back slams to earn the largest lead of the game, sitting at 12-5 with under 13 minutes left.
App State gained their biggest lead of the game with 24-12 with under six minutes left in the first half.
Graduate student guard Kasen Jennings knocked down his first 3-pointer of the game with under three minutes left on the clock.
One minute later, Mercer started to gain some control of the game after a timeout call, when they got the score down to 29-21.
Kerns called a timeout to attempt to reset the defense with just over a minute before halftime.
Wilson had a strong block to defend the Bears momentum, but it wasn’t enough to keep them minimized, which led to a 10-0 run.
The Mountaineers headed into the locker room at halftime leading 29-26.
The Black and Gold had issues with getting the ball inside the paint, but a well set up 3-pointer from Jennings gave the Mountaineers a small cushion coming out of the locker room.
After a pair of free throws from Jennings, App State led 40-33 with under 16 minutes left in the second half.
Wilson rose the Mountaineer bench out of their seats as he had a clean block and an unguarded slam dunk with over eight minutes left.
The Bears mustered up their largest lead of the game at 58-65 with under four minutes left of play.
Mercer closed out the game with a 75-67 win over the Black and Gold, giving App State their third road loss.
Wilson ended his afternoon with 3 blocks, a steal and 10 points. Jennings had a harder time offensively in the second half, but still had 16 points and 4 assists.
After Thanksgiving break, the Mountaineers will face off against the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs Sunday. Tip off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
