BOONE, N.C. - It took everything the Mountaineers had to crawl out of a 19-point hole in the second half against King College, and after gaining a 60-59 lead with eight minutes to play, Appalachian State University men's basketball faded down the stretch in an 87-76 setback at the Holmes Center on Monday evening.

Josh Hunter scored 16 of his career-high 22 points in the second half to help the Apps rally, but double-doubles from KC's Brian Hewitt and Clarence Smith proved to be too much. The Tornado shot 46.8 percent from the field and converted 23-of-29 free throws in the game.

Smith led the Tornado with 22 points and 13 boards while Hewitt added 15 points and 10 assists as five King players scored in double figures.

The Mountaineers (12-10) stumbled out of the gate early as King used an 11-point run to bolster momentum and climb out to an 11-point lead in the first half. The Tornado took a 39-31 lead to the locker room at intermission behind 13 fast break points and 20 points in the paint.  King finished with 22 fast break points and 40 points in the paint and held the Apps to just eight transistion points.

King (13-4) then extended the advantage to as many as 19 points early in the second half before the Mountaineers rallied. ASU used a long 29-10 run to take its first lead in the second half as a pair of free throws from Donald Sims gave the Apps their only second-half lead.

The Tornado responded with an 8-0 run to take a 67-60 lead on a layup by Smith.  The Mountaineers got back to with four at 74-70 with four minutes to go on a Hunter layup, but were unable to close the gap any further.

Sims scored 11 points in the game but was just 3-of-13 from the field. In 16 minutes off the bench, Isaac Butts scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead ASU, as the team held a 41-37 advantage on the glass.

Kellen Brand recorded a season-best six assists to accompany 12 points and a pair of rebounds. Jeremi Booth was 3-of-8 from downtown for 13 points and five rebounds. Appalachian sank just 7-of-28 three-pointers in the game and 11-of-18 free throws.

The Mountaineers return to SoCon play on Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest at Western Carolina.

Notes: Marcus Wright injured his hip in the first half and did not return to the game; the sophomore guard will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis ... Wright made his third start of the season and Tyler Webb made his second, as the Apps began the game with four guards on the floor ... The loss was the first in 15 meetings against King College ... Following the game, ASU has only one more non-conference game scheduled in the regular season, as Tennessee Tech will visit the Holmes Center on Feb. 20 as part of the ESPNU BracketBusters event.