App State men’s basketball extended their win streak to four with an 82-67 win against Old Dominion Thursday night. This marks the first time the Mountaineers have won 13 conference games since joining the Sun Belt. Additionally, they are among 10 Division I schools with 23 or more wins.
The game started sluggishly. After a dunk by junior forward Tre’Von Spillers tied the game 5-5, neither team scored a basket for the next three minutes. With less than a minute left in the first half, junior guard Terence Harcum scored a strong layup to put the Black and Gold up four. On the next possession, junior guard Myles Tate created space, hitting a stepback three-pointer that put App State up 36-29 at halftime.
The lead changed seven times in the first half, but only three times in the second. With 9:46 left in the game and the Mountaineers down two, senior forward CJ Huntley won an aggressive rebound that led to a three from Harcum to retake the lead. A 21-6 run ensued as the Mountaineers never lost the lead again on their way to the win.
Harcum led all scorers with 22 points, with 18 coming in the second half. He shot 50% from the field and was perfect at the charity stripe. Behind him was Tate with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal, shooting 86%.
Spillers crashed the glass for his eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He also tallied two steals and a block.
Rounding out the scoring leaders was graduate student forward Donovan Gregory with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks. The four of them combined for 60 of App State’s 82 points.
The Mountaineers offense went 9-18 from three, an excellent night compared to the 32% average on the year. Rebounding also led to the victory as they grabbed 47 boards, outrebounding Old Dominion by 11 in the second half. The work was complemented by the usual stifling App State defense, holding their opponent to 28.6% from three.
The Mountaineers improved their conference record to 13-2, staying in first place in the Sun Belt with James Madison one game back. They have three games remaining in the regular season and have clinched a top-three seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.
This was the Black and Gold’s first of two meetings with the Monarchs. They will meet again for the Mountaineers’ next home game at the Holmes Convocation Center Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
App State will play their final road game Saturday in Huntington, West Virginia against Marshall. It will be the Mountaineers’ third nationally televised game of the season on ESPN2. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
