BOONE, N.C. –
Michael Eads Jr. tallied a career-high 20 points as App State men's basketball defeated Hartford 69-59 on Monday evening.
Eads Jr. knocked down four 3-pointers and finished 8-of-10 (80.0 percent) from the field. He scored 13 of his 20 points in the opening half and pulled down four rebounds in the contest.
Adrian Delph added 12 points and five rebounds, while
Donovan Gregory chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks.
CJ Huntley added six points and seven rebounds off the bench.
After falling behind 3-2 early, App State (4-4) answered with an 8-0 run to open a 10-3 lead. Hartford (0-6) pulled within three at 10-7, but the Mountaineers came right back with five straight points to open a 15-7 advantage.
Later in the half, Eads Jr. drained three 3-pointers in a 1:24 span to give the Mountaineers a 26-15 edge with 7:36 remaining in the opening half. App State led by as many as 17 points in the opening half and took a 38-23 lead into the break.
In the second half, Hartford scored the first five points to pull within 38-29. The Mountaineers pushed their lead back to 55-42 with 8:59 left to play, but the Hawks answered with five consecutive points to trim the App State lead to 55-47. The Black and Gold came right back with a 9-0 spurt, capped by a Eads Jr. trey, to push its lead to 64-47 with 3:04 to play. Hartford pulled within 10 points late, but could get no closer.
The Mountaineers forced Hartford into 17 turnovers and scored 22 points off the miscues. In addition, App State held a 38-24 in points in the paint and a 32-17 edge in bench scoring.
Austin Williams led Hartford with 19 points and six assists.
App State will have a quick turnaround and host Boyce on Wednesday evening on ESPN+. The contest is the second game of a doubleheader with the women's program, with tip set for approximately 7:30 p.m. Season and single game tickets for the 2021-22 season are on sale and can be purchased by
clicking here.
