BOONE, N.C. - Led by 15 points and 17 rebounds from Isaac Butts, Appalachian State University men's basketball opened the home portion of its 2008-09 home schedule in thrilling fashion with an 87-84, double-overtime victory over Charlotte before a raucous crowd of 3,210 at the Holmes Center.
There were nine ties and 13 lead changes in the back-and-forth affair. Appalachian opened the second half with a 13-2 run to take a 12-point lead, but Charlotte scored 16 of the final 26 points in regulation to send the contest to overtime harkening back to the two teams' last meeting in the Holmes Center when ASU prevailed 103-100 in three overtimes on November 25, 2002.
In the first extra period, ASU led by three in the final minute, but Charlotte's Ian Andersen hit a three-pointer with 35 seconds remaining to send the contest to double overtime. ASU appeared poised to clinch the win with nine seconds left on a layup from Ryann Abraham, however, as the ball fell through the twine Abraham was whistled for the charge giving the 49ers a shot at the win. Charlotte's shot at ending the game in one extra period was thwarted by Eduadro Bermudez, who blocked An'Juan Wildnerness' shot with two seconds to go.
The play was one of many big contributions from the senior who, while only scoring five points, added five rebounds, five assists and a career-high seven steals.
The Mountaineers (1-1) never trailed in the second overtime, as Kellen Brand scored the first three points of the period on his second three-point play of the evening and Abraham sealed the triumph by sinking 4-of-4 free throws in the final 12 seconds. The pair combined to score nine of ASU's 12 points in the second overtime.
In addition to Butts' second double-double in as many games, Brand poured in a game-high 23 points, Josh Hunter added 15 in his Holmes Center debut and Abraham chipped in with 10 to round out four Mountaineers in double-figures. Wildnerness paced Charlotte (1-2) with 17 points while Ian Anderson scored 15. Brand's 23 points come after dropping 27 on the 49ers in last year's meeting.
The Apps jumped out to an early 15-5 lead in the first half courtesy of an 11-0 run fueled by two three-pointers from Brand. However, the Niners answered later with a 13-0 run take a 20-16 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the half with Lamont Mack and RaShad Coleman combining for 11 of the points during the run.
The two offense stagnated for the next series of possessions until ASU rattled off a 7-0 run capped by a rare three-pointer from Tyler Webb to take a 31-28 lead with 3:46 left in the half. Ryann Abraham helped key the run for ASU blocking a three-pointer on the defensive end of the floor that spurred five-straight points for the Apps. The squads traded buckets before a Brand three-pointer with 32 seconds left followed by a tough-defensive stand gave the Apps a 36-35 lead at halftime.
That momentum didn't stay in the locker room though, as ASU opened up the second half with a 13-2 run over the first 2:20 of the second half to take a 12-point, 49-37, lead behind seven points from Brand. Seven-straight points from the 49ers later cut ASU's lead to two at 51-49 but a spot-up three from Sims followed by a driving layup from Andre Williamson nipped the Charlotte rally. Those two plays couldn't take all the wind out of the 49ers' sails as they closed within one point, 60-59, with less than eight minutes to play and took the lead moments later on a big three-pointer from Andersen.
A three-point play from Hunter put the Apps back in the lead at 64-62 with 4:43 left and the next two minutes were played scoreless until DiJuan Harris scored back-to-back buckets off turnovers to give Charlotte a 66-64 lead with 2:12 left. ASU which committed 20 turnovers in regulation, only coughed up the ball twice in the overtime periods.
ASU tied the game and later took the lead with 11 seconds left off of free throws from Hunter and Donald Sims, respectively. After a Charlotte timeout to draw up the final play yielded the game-tying bucket from Wilderness, ASU's last second shot was off the mark to send the contest into overtime.
After playing back-to-back overtime games for the first time since the 1998-99 season, the team will have little time to enjoy the emotional victory as preparations begin for Saturday's game at Niagara. The Apps will have revenge on their minds after falling,76-75, to the Purple Eagles on a buzzer-beating three-pointer last season in Boone. Tipoff at the Gallagher Center is scheduled for 4 p.m.
