Mountaineers dominate with 111-35 victory over Central Penn

Chance Chamberlain, Associate Sports Editor • 178 Views

December 6, 2023

Junior guard Xavion Brown drives past a Tiger defender Dec.3.

Two days after the Mountaineers’ home upset over Auburn, the Black and Gold protected Holmes Convocation Center with a dominant 111-35 victory against Central Penn.

“I think that part of what really good teams do is they’re consistent and they’re mature and I think this was a mature game,” said head coach Dustin Kerns. “We went out and we didn’t get outta character. We didn’t all of a sudden play some way we haven’t been playing and I thought that we were consistent. I was really proud of that.”

Boone native and graduate student guard Bryant Greene got the starting nod in front of the App State faithful. Greene totaled 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists.

“I bleed black and gold,” Green said. “This is surreal to be able to play for the team that I grew up cheering for my whole life. I really can’t put into words how special that was tonight.”

After the first media timeout, the Mountaineers held an 11-3 lead as sophomore forward Justin Abson scored six points and shot 3/3 from the field. Abson finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds in 14 minutes.

App State continued its dominance by extending their lead to 21-6. The Black and Gold went on a 14-3 run led by three-point shooting from junior guard Terence Harcum as he knocked down two shots from behind the arc. Harcum totaled nine points in eight minutes.

Poor shooting from Central Penn resulted in another App State run of 8-0.

After the final media timeout of the first half, the Mountaineers extended their lead to 46-13 after an 11-1 run over 3:20 minutes.

To end the half, the Black and Gold stayed in control to gain a 59-19 lead before heading into the locker room. While Central Penn shot 19% from the field and 11% from the three, App State shot 51% from the field and 38% from three. Senior forward CJ Huntley led the Black and Gold in scoring at half with 11 points and junior forward Tre’Von Spillers led in rebounds with 10.

To begin the second half, the Mountaineers hit 5-6 from the field to increase their lead to 74-25. Three-point shots from junior forward Christopher Mantis and Greene guided App State to their increased margin over the Knights. All of Mantis’ nine points came from behind the arc as he shot 3-7.

A 9-0 Mountaineers run over two minutes saw the Black and Gold take a 83-26 lead.

With 10 minutes remaining the App State bench was emptied and the dunk fest featuring junior guard Xavion Brown was on full display with the lead up to 60. Brown finished the game with 12 points and 16 rebounds.

“You just can’t take any game for granted,” Brown said. “You gotta play every game like it’s your last.”

Freshman forward Josh Hayes led the team in scoring with 18 points on 7/10 from the field, along with 12 rebounds.

The Black and Gold strolled to the final buzzer for a 111-35 victory to improve their record to 7-2.

“We’ve got some great athletes,” Kerns said. “We had 31 assists, which is outstanding. I think that we’ve got a really good team and that’s what really good teams do is they play like they’re capable and they play to the standard. And I thought that’s what we did tonight.”

Their next matchup is on the road Dec. 13 against Queens in Charlotte at 7 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.

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