Box Score ATHENS, Ohio – A long second-half scoring drought proved too much to overcome as Appalachian State University men's basketball opened the 2014-15 campaign with a 73-47 loss at Ohio on Saturday at the Convocation Center.

The Mountaineers (0-1) were held scoreless for a near seven-minute stretch (19:35-12:36) in the second period, and the Bobcats (1-0) ripped off a 17-0 run to blow a close game wide open en route to their 11th-straight win in a season opener.

Appalachian trailed by just eight points (35-27) at the break thanks in large part to Chris Burgess' 3-of-4 from long range in the first half, but the Apps went 1-of-11 to open the second half and the Bobcats drilled four three-pointers to take a commanding 54-29 lead midway through the final period.

Ryan Taylor scored 10 points for the Bobcats during the run as he nailed a pair of shots from long range and connected on both a jumper and a layup. The freshman guard finished with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting in his collegiate debut.

Mike Kobani brought Appalachian within seven (36-29) when he scored just 25 seconds into the final frame, but the Mountaineers would not get on the board again until Landon Goesling drilled a jumper almost seven minutes later.

It would be all the momentum Ohio needed as it stretched its lead to as many as 29 points in the second half. The Bobcats finished 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from the floor over the final 20 minutes of play, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc.

The Apps were able to keep it close for much of the first half despite Ohio running out to an early nine-point lead (20-11) with 11:42 left in the opening period. Appalachian cut the deficit to as little as four points (31-27) when Frank Eaves hit a pair of free throws with 1:36 on the clock, but Ohio hit two shots in the final 1:16 to take a 35-27 lead into the locker room.

Burgess finished with 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting with a team-high four assists while Tommy Spagnolo also scored 11 and ripped down a team-best nine rebounds. Kobani finished with nine points on 4-of-6 from the floor.

In addition to his 21 points, Taylor also dished out four assists. Maurice Ndour notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Antonio Campbell poured in 13 off the bench.

The Bobcats finished with a 41-35 edge in rebounds and forced 14 App State turnovers. Both teams finished with 12 assists, but Ohio tallied six blocks to just two for the Mountaineers.

Appalachian continues its season-opening three-game road swing when it heads to former Southern Conference rival Furman for a  7 p.m. contest on Wednesday.

NOTES: The Mountaineers fell to 50-40 (.555) all-time in season openers .. the Apps also dropped to 0-2 all-time against Ohio and 2-5 against teams from the Mid-American Conference ... Kobani and Dustin Clarke made their first career starts ... four different Mountaineer freshmen played ... in addition to Goesling, Jake Babic, Griffin Kinney and Milos Kostic all saw time on the floor ... Tab Hamilton did not play due to a violation of team rules ... no timetable has been set for his return ... Michael Obacha and Dylan Hodson did not play due to injuries ... Obacha (upper body) is day-to-day while Hodson (lower body) is out indefinitely.