BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's basketball opens the 2011-12 campaign on Friday with a 7 p.m. home contest against Lees-McRae.

The Mountaineers return four starters from last year's 16-15 squad, which placed third in the Southern Conference North Divsion with a 10-8 league record.

Highlighting the returnees are four seniors, including SoCon Preseason Player of the Year Omar Carter. The wing averaged 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds last season and is the league's top returning scorer.

Carter is joined by senior post players Isaac Butts, Petey Hausley and Andre Williamson. The veterans are surrounded by a cast of new faces, including six players waiting to make their Black and Gold debuts.

ASU fans got a taste of the 2011-12 squad's potential one week ago when the Apps drained 17 three-pointers in a 102-64 exhibition thrashing of Lenoir-Rhyne.

Junior transfer Rodney Milum was 8-of-12 from downtown to lead the barrage. The guard finished with a game-high 28 points.

Series History:
• Appalachian is a perfect 3-0 against nearby Lees-McRae.
• The Apps' last win came two seasons ago with a 77-44 win at the Holmes Center.
• Since a 1935-36 contest in which the Mountaineers carved out a 31-8 win, the teams met just one other time.
• ASU pounded the Bobcats, 117-74, in 1999-2000. Appalachian's 117 points stand as the second-most points in a game in program history.
• Three current Apps saw action against the Bobcats in 2009.
• Isaac Butts sank 11-of-12 field goal attempts for a career high 22 points with nine rebounds and a block.
• Andre Williamson came off the bench to score four points and grab four rebounds while Nathan Healy also appeared in the contest.
• In the previous meeting, Shawn Alexander led the Apps with 24 points, while Matt McMahon added 22 and Rufus Leach scored 21 of his own.
• Tyson Patterson dished out 14 of ASU's 29 assists to set the program record.

Scouting the Bobcats:
• Lees-McRae head coach Scott Polsgrove returns 11 players from last season's 6-20 squad. Junior guard Daniel Sepokas is the only returning starter, however, after scoring 13.2 points per game last season.
• The Bobcats dropped an exhibition at UNC Asheville earlier this week, 98-67. Sepokas led LMC with 17 points in the contest.
• LMC shot 40.7 percent from the field against UNCA, but lost the rebound battle, 51-35, and turned the ball over 23 times.

Glancing Ahead:
• The Mountaineers take a three-game break away from the Holmes Center, beginning with a road trip to Tennessee.
• ASU faces former SoCon rival ETSU in the first game of a home-and-home series on Tuesday in Johnson City.
• The Apps then return the 2010 BracketBuster game at Tennessee Tech on Nov. 19.
• The swing away from the High Country wraps up on Nov. 22 against East Carolina at Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena.