BOONE, N.C. -- D.J. Thompson led three Appalachian State University players in double-figures as Appalachian downed Arkansas-Little Rock, 75-65, in the season opener for both teams on Friday night at the Holmes Center. A raucous crowd of 3,437 saw Thompson, a preseason all-Southern Conference selection, turn in the second-best scoring output of his career with 26 points. Sophomore Jeremy Clayton matched a career high with 16 points and junior Nathan Cranford chipped in with 13 to help pace the Mountaineers. Arkansas-Little Rock was paced by Rashad Jones-Jenkins's double-double with 18 points and 10 boards. Jones-Jenkins led a physical UALR rebounding effort that gained a 45-30 advantage in boards and scored 16 in second-chance points. "That's as nervous as I've ever been before a game in my 10 years here," said head coach Houston Fancher "It was encouraging to win against a team that rebounded as well as they did. We held them under 40 percent shooting which was critical for us." Fancher's pregame jitters were soon assuaged by Thompson's play as the junior guard jumped out of the gates with five points and two steals in the first 47 seconds to give ASU an early 5-0 lead. "We told him [Thompson] to be aggressive," said Fancher. "The screen and roll was very effective tonight and he's tough to guard coming off that. He's a very special player." Appalachian went up 9-2 on a Demetrius Scott layup with 17:16 left on the clock. The Trojans battled back to tie the game at 15-15 with 12:09 left on a Lekheythan Malone lone three pointer of the game. Malone finished the evening with 12 points and seven rebounds. The two teams swapped leads five times before halftime as Thompson was forced to leave the game after picking up his second foul. Freshman Ryann Abraham performed admirably in Thompson's absence, scoring twice with a steal and assist. ASU reclaimed the lead on a Cranford three pointer and went up five on Tyler Webb's layup before ending the half with a 36-34 lead. That would be as close the Trojans would come as the Mountaineers opened the half on a 10-2 run keyed by five points from Clayton to take a commanding 46-36 lead with 16 minutes left in the contest. However, the Mountaineers only hit one of their next eight shots from the field, allowing the lead to erode to four, 51-47, with 10 minutes left. The Apps quickly regained their shooting touch, putting together an 11-4 run to stretch the lead out to 11 in the next four minutes. From there, ASU kept the Trojans at least six points away, and hit nine of its final 11 free throw shots down the stretch to win its fifth consecutive home opener. The win is also ASU's 21st win against a non-conference opponent, eighth straight win at home and improves the team's all-time record in home openers to 47-9. The Mountaineers won't have long to celebrate their victory as they welcome Virginia Commonwealth to the Holmes Center on Monday, November 21 for a 7:30 p.m. tip. The Rams, led by head coach Jeff Capel, are coming off their fourth consecutive season with 18 or more wins and made an appearance in the 2005 NIT.