The App State men’s basketball team opened up the season with a 77-63 loss to the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks Monday night. It was the first home loss for the Mountaineers since Feb. 18, 2023, and the first home opener loss since 2013.
The RedHawks struck first but the Mountaineers responded quickly, with the Mountaineers leading by four at the first media timeout. The Mountaineers took their largest lead of the game with 13:08 remaining in the first half, but the RedHawks were able to respond.
Evan Ipsaro hit a jump shot with 5:40 left in the first half to give the RedHawks their first lead since 3-0.
Miami entered halftime up 32-31.
Redshirt senior guard Myles Tate hit a three-pointer to open the second half. Miami and App State traded the lead for a few minutes before Miami went on a 7-0 run.
The Mountaineers were able to cut the lead to two with 12:56 left in the second half. Miami began to pull away and the Mountaineers had no answers for the RedHawks.
The Mountaineers began intentionally fouling down seven with 1:34 to play, but Miami was able to hit eight free throws in the last minute and a half to put the game out of reach.
Tate led the Mountaineers with 21 points and five assists. Tate played all but two minutes of the game. Graduate student guard Jackson Threadgill and graduate student forward CJ Huntley each had nine points, with Huntley having six rebounds and Threadgill accounting for two blocks.
Four Mountaineers left the game with injuries, but all four later returned to the court. After returning to the court in the first half, senior forward Jalil Beaubrun left the game for the second half.
“The doctors and medical staff I thought did a really good job, they assessed him, he was able to come back in and then at halftime he didn’t feel like he could,” head coach Dustin Kerns said.
App State turned the ball over 19 times, which led to 10 points off turnovers for the RedHawks. The Mountaineers also shot 39.6% from the field and 28.1% from beyond-the-arc. Miami out rebounded the Mountaineers 35-34.
The Mountaineers look to move forward Wednesday when they play St. Andrews out of the NAIA. The game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. at the Holmes Convocation Center and will be streamed live on ESPN+.