BOONE, N.C. – Riding high after an emotional win last Sunday, the App State Mountaineers dominated from start to finish on Tuesday, defeating the Central Penn Knights 111-35 to cap off their four-game homestand undefeated and improve to 7-2. App State never trailed in the game and held the Knights to just 13 percent shooting for the game.
App State (7-2) has now won six games and is off to its best nine-game start in over 30 years. The last time App State won seven of their first nine to start a season came back in the 1988-89 season when Tom Apke's squad won 10 of their first 11 games to begin the year.
It was a memorable night for several Mountaineers, but especially for
Bryant Greene, the Boone native, who made his first career start. Greene became the first player from Boone to start a game for the hometown Mountaineers since J.R. Archer made his only career start for App State back in Feb. 2011. Greene tallied career highs in points (14), assists (7) and minutes played (31) in front of several family members and friends.
How it Happened
In an impressive cap to a historic four-game homestand for the Black & Gold, 13 players saw the floor and all but 12 scored at least one basket. Six players tallied double-figure nights and three more tallied double-doubles.
Xavion Brown and
Josh Hayes each had career nights as Brown tallied 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds while Hayes put up 18 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.
The Mountaineers got off to an 11-3 start fueled by a
Jordan Marsh three-pointer and a trio of
Justin Abson dunks to get the crowd riled up immediately. Abson tallied two offensive rebounds off a pair of missed shots and stuffed back the putback slams as part of his 10-point first half.
After the media break, Kerns went to his regular starters who started pouring in baskets instantly as
Terence Harcum drained a pair of three-pointers and
Tre'Von Spillers got involved with a pair of dunks to push App State's lead to 15.
Greene would nail his first field goal of the evening off a pretty
Xavion Brown assist to tally his first field goal since the first game of the season as play hit the under-12 media timeout. During this stretch, the Mountaineers held the Knights to just four points while scoring 10 themselves to take control of the contest.
The Mountaineers would continue to pour it on as
Christopher Mantis got involved, hitting a three-pointer to push App State's lead to 18 points before Greene nailed a three to extend the lead to 20 while also sending the Mountaineer faithful into a frenzy.
App State would go into the next media break on 14-6 run powered by a pair of electrifying dunks by
CJ Huntley. Huntley, who scored 10 points against Auburn last Sunday, bested that performance with 11 on Tuesday on an efficient 5-8 shooting in his first start since Nov. 14 against Oregon State.
Keeping the pedal to the floor, App State continued to jump all over Central Penn on Tuesday as the Mountaineers would push the lead to 30 at the 4:26 mark thanks to a
Tre'Von Spillers putback layup. Spillers only played 10 minutes but recorded his second double-double as a Mountaineer, tallying 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
The Mountaineers would end the half with a 40-point lead. The Knights would tie the game at two apiece after a Jordan Strickland made layup, but App State would go on an impressive 57-17 run to close the half as they would shoot 51 percent from the field and drain eight threes in the first half.
Huntley and Abson led the way in the first half for the Black & Gold as they each posted double-digit first halves. Abson dominated the paint in the first frame, grabbing five rebounds while swatting away a career-high tying six shots. Abson has blocked six shots in a game twice this season already, accomplishing that feat for the first time against Oregon State on Nov. 14.
Greene was right behind Huntley and Abson in the first half, pouring in nine points on 3-7 shooting. The Boone native was also a threat facilitating the ball in the first half as he dished out two assists.
Coming out of the break, App State continued its dominance, scoring 15 of the first 23 points to begin the final frame.
Xavion Brown ignited the crowd with a ferocious two-handed dunk while Mantis drained his third three of the game during that stretch.
App State would push the lead to 50 points by the 14:34 mark as Greene drained a layup to give him 14 points for the night. Greene had never scored more than 10 points in his career before tonight.
Abson continued the party on Tuesday night as he drained his second career three-pointer before hammering home a dunk to extend the lead to 55 points. Abson's 15 points on Tuesday were the most he has scored in a game this season and was one off his career high of 16.
Dawson Fennema saw the floor for the first time since opening night and buried a three-pointer to push the lead up to 62 points. Fennema notched a career-high five points on the evening in 11 minutes of action.
Tuesday's contest turned into a one-man dunk contest for Brown as he rattled off three backboard-shaking dunks in a matter of minutes to bring every person in the building to their feet. Brown scored a season-high 12 points on Tuesday while also grabbing a career-best 16 rebounds to lead the team. Brown had never grabbed more than eight rebounds before tonight and was one of three players to record a double-double.
Josh Hayes saw significant playing time against the Knights and took advantage of every minute as he would be responsible for 11 of the final 18 points scored by App State, notching a career-best 18 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday in his first game action since Nov. 26.
When the second-half buzzer sounded, App State had tallied a 76-point win over Central Penn at the Holmes Center and capped off its four-game homestand undefeated. The Mountaineers have yet to lose at home this season and have won all but one game by double-digits.
Top Performers
In a game that saw multiple players tally double-doubles and career-best nights, three players stood out on Tuesday.
Bryant Greene played a career-best 31 minutes and notched a career-high 14 points and seven assists in his first ever start.
Xavion Brown electrified the crowd with a few gravity-defying jams, while also contributing 12 points and 16 rebounds for his first career double-double. Finally,
Josh Hayes showed flashes of stellar play for the Black & Gold as he shot an impressive 7-10 from the field and recorded his first career double-double with a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Next Up
The Mountaineers will have the next eight days to prepare for their next contest against the Queens Royals in Charlotte on Dec. 13. It will be the first ever meeting between the two teams. Tipoff from Curry Arena is slated for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
