App State men’s basketball (3-12, 1-3 Sun Belt) bounced back from Thursday’s tough loss with a dominant 76-56 performance over Texas State (7-5, 1-2 Sun Belt) to end their nine-game losing streak.
The Mountaineers wasted no time to bounce back from the blown lead they had against UT Arlington on Thursday, jumping out to a 30-8 lead over the Bobcats with 8:30 remaining in the first half.
App held Texas State to a three minute scoring drought during a 10-0 Mountaineer run to give them a 23-point lead. App held the Bobcats to 18.2 percent shooting during the run.
Rebounding seemed to be the Mountaineers’ focus during the first half while they out rebounded the Bobcats 23-12 in the first half.
“Rebounding was key to this game and that’s exactly what we did. It was a team effort,” freshman guard Emarius Logan said, who finished with 11 points, his second straight game scoring double digits.
After leading on Thursday night in the first half before collapsing, the Mountaineers remembered the mistakes they made. Texas State slowly crept back in it with a 7-0 run near the end of the first half. The Mountaineers shot two for their last eight from the field but entered halftime leading 42-26.
“Last game we were up and then came out slow second half,” Logan said. “Today we stepped on their neck and didn’t want them to get back in. We came out with a ton of fight today.”
The Mountaineers did exactly what they said they would do and never let the Bobcats back in it in the second half. Senior guard Frank Eaves, App’s leading scorer, helped them maintain the lead with his strong offensive play. Eaves finished with 30 points on the night, shooting 10-for-16 from the field.
“Offensively I thought we really attacked them. I thought Frank was outstanding today and he played a complete game,” head coach Jim Fox said. “He made guys around him better. Our guys made shots around him.”
Not only did Eaves shoot well from the field, but also he went 7-of-7 from the free throw line, just two nights after missing four free throws against UT Arlington.
“I stayed in the gym maybe an hour after the game working on free throws and today it really helped us,” Eaves said.
With App State holding a large enough lead in the second half, Fox was able to play a season high 18 different players. The Mountaineers saw sophomore guard Jalen Sanders and freshman guards Kevin Kerley and Trey Ford receive their first minutes of the season. Ford hit a 3-pointer as the game expired.
“I am very pleased with our players today. They work hard everyday but they just haven’t been able to execute and do what we need to do in a game situation,” Fox said. “I thought we played a complete game today in every aspect.”
The Mountaineers head on the road Thursday to take on Sun Belt leader Little Rock (14-1, 4-0 Sun Belt).
Story by: Jason Huber, Sports Reporter