After dropping two straight games to Northern Illinois and Oregon State, the Mountaineers traveled to Fort Myers, Florida to face off against UNC-Wilmington and Murray State in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
On Tuesday, App State blew out the Seahawks 86-56 in an offensive showcase.
The first half was tightly contested, with the Seahawks leading the Mountaineers 34-33 going into the locker room, after shooting 7/17 from downtown and 7/7 from the foul line.
However, in the second half the Black and Gold came roaring back, outscoring UNCW 53-22, with a 36-4 run that put the game out of reach.
The Mountaineers had five players score double-digits. Junior forward Tre’Von Spillers had 15, graduate student forward Donovan Gregory and junior guard Myles Tate ended at 14, junior forward Christopher Mantis and junior guard Terence Harcum finished with 13 and 10.
The defense also stepped up, allowing the Seahawks to go 9/27 from the field in the second half.
On Wednesday, the Black and Gold defeated the Murray State Racers 67-57 on a poor shooting day for both teams, taking their second straight win in Florida.
The first half was evenly matched, with App State taking a 33-28 lead into the locker room after both teams shot over 40% in the half.
The second half saw both teams continue their mediocre offensive pace, with the Mountaineers again outscoring the Racers 34-29.
Both teams shot under 30% from three-point range, and with neither team able to get it going from three, the Mountaineers eventually pulled away and won in the second half.
The Mountaineers’ leading scorer was Gregor, who scored double-digit points again with 16 on 6/7 from the field and 6/7 from the line. He wasn’t the only double-digit scorer, with Harcum scoring 13 and Spillers scoring 10.
The Black and Gold are now 3-2 on the year, and will return to North Carolina, where they won’t leave for the rest of the calendar year.Â
App State returns to the Holmes Convocation Center Sunday to face a 3-3 Austin Peay team at 1 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
