The Mountaineers extended their win streak to five games Thursday night in a black out game at Holmes Convocation Center against rival Georgia Southern.
App State faced adversity, as the Eagles took their only lead of the game early in the second half, but the Black and Gold responded and never looked back in a 84-74 victory.
“Proud of our guys,” said head coach Dustin Kerns. “It was a hard fought game and we made some winning plays at the end.”
Junior guard Terence Harcum led the team in points while tying his season-high with 23 as he shot 7-12 from the field and 4-6 from beyond the arc. Harcum scored 17 points in the first half while he dealt with foul trouble through the game with four fouls.
“Shots were just falling,” Harcum said. “Shots were going my way tonight and shoutout to my teammates for finding me as well.”
Harcum’s shooting was needed as Georgia Southern guard Tyren Moore scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half. The two guards exchanged baskets the entire game.
Three other Mountaineers scored double digits as junior forward Tre’Von Spillers had 13, graduate student forward Donovan Gregory scored 12 and sophomore forward Justin Abson finished with 11.
Abson and Spillers led the team in rebounds with nine each as they both had four offensive rebounds and five defensive rebounds. Spillers led the team in blocks with three as the Sun Belt Player of the Week continues to add to his stellar first season in the Black and Gold.
As a team, App State shot 47% from the field and 35% from three. The Mountaineers scored 25 second-chance points after securing 16 offensive rebounds.
The shot blocking capabilities of the Black and Gold impacted the game once again as they blocked nine shots compared to the Eagles’ one.
Georgia Southern shot 45% from the field, breaking App State’s five-game streak of holding an opponent below 40% from the field. The Black and Gold held the Eagles to a season-low three made shots from beyond the arc.
“At the end of the day, we did our job of not allowing them to get threes,” Kerns said. “We didn’t think they would get enough twos.”
Thursday’s victory improves the Mountaineers to an overall record of 16-4 and 7-1 record in the Sun Belt. The victory matched the program’s best 20-game start in the last 40 years.
“It means a lot, being here in the summer and all the hard work we put in,” Abson said. “Seeing it pay off feels good, but you’ve got to keep going.”
App State remains undefeated at home with a 9-0 record as they face James Madison in Boone Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
