CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Mountaineers used a late run to take the lead for good, and seven free throws down the stretch sealed the win, as Appalachian State University men's basketball snapped Western Carolina's 15-game home winning streak on Saturday, 89-77.

Donald Sims led all scorers with 29 points on 8-of-11 shooting and made all nine free throw attempts. He scored 19 points in the second half and broke out of a three-point slump, making 4-of-6 from downtown.

The game saw 10 lead changes but looked at risk to get out of hand early on, as the Catamounts opened an 11-point advantage. Appalachian then set out on a 16-point run to take a 33-28 lead shortly before the intermission. Sims scored five points over the stretch and Isaac Butts added four.

Butts dominated the paint with nine first half points and finished the game with 14 points, nine rebounds and a block. Appalachian scored 40 points in the paint, compared to WCU's 30.

Fellow post Josh Hunter added 10 points and four rebounds and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, while Andre Williamson came off the bench to add eight points, five boards and a block late in the game.

The Mountaineers took a two-point advantage to the locker room at halftime. Western Carolina then sprinted back out to a 45-40 lead early in the second  half. The teams traded baskets until the eight-minute mark, when the Apps made their move.

Kellen Brand and Marcus Wright then rattled off six points in a span of 45 seconds before Tyler Webb knocked down a three-pointer and Sims punctuated the 11-point run with a layup. The basket gave the Mountaineers a 69-63 advantage with six minutes to play.

Wright would finish the game with 10 points and five rebounds, including an off-balance shot clock buzzer beater from the baseline late in the contest.

WCU pulled within two points with four minutes remaining, but Appalachian converted its final 11 free throw attempts and three of its final four field goal attempts to finish the game with a 60 percent shooting clip (30-of-50). The Cats shot 30-of-67 in the game for a 44.8 percent mark, led by Brandon Giles and Jake Robinson, who tallied 19 points each.

The Apps owned a 36-30 advantage on the glass, though WCU had 15 offensive boards to the Mountaineers' seven. Western Carolina's Robinson and Brigham Waginger led the team with five rebounds each.

The Mountaineers (13-10, 7-4 SoCon) earned the season sweep against the Catamounts (18-6, 8-4) for the fifth time in six seasons.  

Appalachian returns to the court on Monday to close out a four-game SoCon swing at UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m.