The Black and Gold kicked off the 2023-24 men’s basketball season with a decisive 87-49 victory over the Oakland City Mighty Oaks.
“I think we did a lot of things well,” said head coach Dustin Kerns. “We didn’t turn the ball over very much. Everybody played and everybody scored.”
Sophomore forward Justin Abson opened the scoring for the Mountaineers with five points in the first 90 seconds of the game, giving the team a lead they held for the remainder of the game.
A 44-point first half for the Mountaineers was led by junior guard Terence Harcum, who scored nine points in the opening 20 minutes of the season. App State was equally strong on the defensive end, allowing just 21 points in the first half against the Mighty Oaks.
Coming out of the locker room, the Black and Gold kept their foot on the gas and immediately extended their 23-point halftime lead. Five Oakland City turnovers in the first three minutes of the second half gave the Mountaineers plenty of opportunities to score, and they capitalized with a quick 7-0 run.
From there, the App State lead grew larger, with the advantage sitting at 38 points when the final buzzer sounded. Kerns used the large lead in the second half as an opportunity to give playing time to as many different players as possible, with every member of the roster scoring points on the night.
As with any early-season non-conference game, one of the primary goals for the game was to find a rhythm and get prepared for the start of Sun Belt play in December. Kerns expressed optimism about the state of the team and their chances of success this season.
“We wanted to pressure, we wanted to press; we executed some of that well,” Kerns said. “I thought that our bench really gave us some spark, we created some offense off of our defense, and that was one of our goals as well.”
One of the few downsides on the night for the Mountaineers was their performance at the free throw line. The team shot 48% at the line on the night, including a 38% free throw rate in the first half. However, Kerns does not believe this will be a recurring issue moving forward.
“I’ve seen us make free throws, and I think it was a little bit of first-game jitters,” Kerns said.
Guard Tre’Von Spillers, a junior transfer from Moberly Area Community College, was quick to impress in his App State debut by leading the team in scoring with 16 points along with six rebounds.
“It was great,” Spillers said. “We just do what we need to do, handle business. Showed the crowd what we’re all about, what we’ve been practicing all summer.”
Freshman guard Jordan Marsh also looked strong in his debut in the High Country. The Charlotte native contributed seven points, two rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes of playing time.
The Mountaineers will begin their first road trip of the season with a stop in DeKalb, Illinois to battle the Northern Illinois Huskies as part of the inaugural MAC-SBC Challenge. Tipoff is set for Saturday at 3 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
