BOONE, N.C. – After notching a historic win against the Auburn Tigers in front of a sold-out Holmes Convocation Center, the App State Mountaineers take the floor to wrap up their four-game homestand against the Central Penn Knights on Tuesday. The game will be a part of a doubleheader with the women's team. The women's game will start at 5:30 p.m. with the men's game to follow. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Sunday's nationally televised game brought 7,037 fans to the Holmes Convocation Center, marking the third time in the Holmes Center era that 7,000 fans have gathered to watch an App State basketball game and the first time since 2009. It was just the 11th time in App State history that the Mountaineers have played in front of a crowd larger than 7,000.
With Sunday's win over Auburn, the Mountaineers have now taken down a Power Five opponent in back-to-back years for the first time since the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. App State dethroned Virginia and Vanderbilt in 2006 before toppling Arkansas in 2007.
The Matchup
- Who: App State vs. Central Penn
- Where: Holmes Convocation Center // Boone, N.C.
- When: Tuesday, December 5 // 8 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: ESPN+
- Listen: 97.3 WKBC, 96.5/1450 WATA, 790/93.7 WETB, 1250/103.9 WBRM
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
App State defeated the Auburn Tigers 69-64 on Sunday marking the first time ever that the Mountaineers have defeated a high-major opponent at the Holmes Center and the first time since 1993 that they have beaten a high-major opponent on their home floor.
The Mountaineers fed off the raucous crowd from the opening tip to the final whistle and led for 27 minutes on Sunday, while also holding the Tigers below 40 percent from the field. Auburn's 39 percent shooting night marked the fifth straight game that App State has held its opponent below 40 percent from the floor.
In another balanced effort that saw four Mountaineers score in double figures,
Myles Tate notched a Mountaineer-high 18 points on 5-8 shooting. Tate's step-back three-pointer with 33 seconds to play sealed the deal on Sunday.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State comes into play on Sunday riding a five-game win streak, which is the second-longest active win streak in the Sun Belt. The Mountaineers are outscoring their opponents by a combined 76 points during their streak and have beaten four of the five opponents by at least 10 points. Additionally, App State has held a double-digit lead in every game during its streak.
The Mountaineers play a complementary style of basketball as they boast the third-largest scoring margin in the Sun Belt at 11.4. App State pairs the lowest-scoring defense with the sixth-highest scoring offense in the conference.
Coach Kerns boasts one of the deepest squads of his tenure as nine players typically see the floor each night. The Mountaineers have seen at least nine players score a basket in half of their games to start the season. Fifth-year guard
Donovan Gregory leads the charge, averaging 13 points per game, but seven players come into play on Wednesday averaging at least seven points.
Defensively, the Mountaineers are one of the nation's best teams at blocking shots this season, averaging six blocks per game, which is tied for the 12th-highest mark in the nation. App State currently has two players in the top four in the Sun Belt Conference in blocked shots in Abson (21) and Spillers (14).
Scouting the Knights
The Central Penn Knights are 1-8 on the season and come into the High Country on a four-game losing streak. The Knights can score the ball, however, as they have scored at least 70 points in all but two games this season.
The high-powered Central Penn offense is led by Quadere Allen and Jordan Strickland who both average 18 points a night. Both Strickland and Allen notched 20-point nights against the College of Southern Maryland last Wednesday.
Head coach Ron Martin is in his inaugural season at the helm of the Knights, but he has extensive coaching experience at the high school level as he has coached for almost 25 years on the prep circuit.
Series History
This will be the first ever meeting between the Knights and Mountaineers, marking the fifth opponent already this season that App State has faced for the first time. The Black & Gold are 3-1 this season against teams they have faced for the first time.
Head coach
Dustin Kerns has never coached against the Knights and none of the players on the roster have seen the floor against Central Penn.
Next Up
The Mountaineers will have eight days until their next contest when they travel to Charlotte to face the Queens Royals for the first time ever next Wednesday. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
