BOONE, N.C. – For the first time since 2004-05, the App State Mountaineers are 7-0 at home after downing the Georgia State Panthers 76-68 at the Holmes Center on Wednesday. The Mountaineers never trailed in the contest, using timely free-throw shooting and solid defensive stands to propel them to the win.
Despite a furious second-half comeback by the Panthers (9-8, 4-2 SBC) to tie things at 53 after trailing by nine at halftime, Tre'Von Spillers and Myles Tate combined to score 18 of the final 23 points for App State to run past Georgia State down the stretch. Spillers tied a season-high with 23 points while setting a season-high in rebounds with 13. Tate provided a huge spark for App State as he tallied 15 points and a season-high in both assists (6) and rebounds (6).
With the score at 72-68 after Leslie Nkereuwem's layup, the App State defense turned up the pressure, forcing a wild three-point attempt, which led to a pair of clutch free throws by Myles Tate to push the Mountaineer lead to six. Five seconds later, the defense showed its might yet again as Xavion Brown got in the passing lane to force a Panther turnover, leading to two more Tate free throws to ice the game. Just like last Saturday against JMU, the Mountaineers closed out a hard-fought win with a defensive stop.
With the win, App State (14-4, 5-1 SBC) moved to 5-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, marking the first time since the 2006-07 season that the Mountaineers have opened conference play by winning five of their first six games. The win extended the Mountaineers' record-breaking start in Sun Belt play as no other App State team has started 5-1 or better in league play since joining in 2014.
How it Happened
Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time in 2024, the Mountaineers gave their home crowd something to cheer about straight from the opening tip as Tre'Von Spillers slammed home a dunk off a pretty pass from Justin Abson to start the contest. 26 seconds later, Terence Harcum would bury a three-pointer to give the Mountaineers a 5-0 lead before the first media break.
App State continued to push the pace against the Panthers as play progressed, building its lead to seven points thanks to a Christopher Mantis three-pointer off a beautifully executed inbound play. But the Panthers worked to trim the deficit back to four by the next media timeout after a tough finish through contact from Brenden Tucker.
Keeping the frenetic pace, the two teams would scramble with one another for position, but App State's attacking mindset would take over as its lead jumped back to six thanks to an alley-oop slam by Justin Abson at the 10:40 mark.
Donovan Gregory got his night going with his first two baskets to push the lead back to five after Georgia State had drawn as close as one point before the under-eight timeout. Despite a poor shooting night for Gregory, his impact on the boards and as a passer was felt as he tallied a season-high 11 rebounds while dishing out four assists.
With the Mountaineer lead at one heading down the stretch of the first frame, Jordan Marsh and the second unit built upon the slim margin, as the freshman scored five of the next nine points to give App State a 32-26 lead at the 3:20 mark. Marsh provided a nice spark off the bench for Coach Kerns, drawing two fouls and scoring five points in the first frame.
The Mountaineers closed the half strong, going on a 7-2 run over the final two minutes, which included a Myles Tate three-pointer, to end the half with a nine-point lead. App State's lead grew to as much as 11 points in the first frame.
All nine Mountaineers who saw the floor in the first frame recorded a basket, marking the 11th time this season that at least nine players have scored in a game for App State. Leading the way were Spillers and Tate, who each had seven.
Out of the break, Spillers and the Mountaineers continued to play with pace as the junior transfer slammed home a fastbreak dunk for App State's first points of the final frame. The lead ballooned to double-digits at the first media timeout thanks to Gregory's tough layup in the paint off a Panther missed layup.
Despite App State finding its rhythm late in the first half and into the second half, the Panthers' excellent three-point shooting in the second half became a huge factor down the stretch. Julian Mackey drilled two straight threes to cut the lead back to five after trailing by 11 just over a minute earlier.
Out of the under-12 media stoppage, Jay'Den Turner trimmed the lead to just three points, sinking a layup. Just two minutes later, Georgia State tied the game at 53 apiece following a fastbreak three by Turner, marking the first and only time the game was tied.
But App State's resiliency shined through against Georgia State as Spillers would quell the Panther run with a thunderous alley-oop to give the Mountaineers the lead back at the under-eight media break.
Harcum would bring the raucous Holmes Center crowd to its feet after nailing a tough layup to push the lead to six with just over six minutes left. 90 seconds later, Tate buried a long three-ball to extend the lead to seven before Spillers jammed one home for a nine-point lead.
Not done yet, the Panthers would drill two more three-pointers to bring the Mountaineer lead back to three with just over three minutes left to play.
With the lead at just three, Tate and the Mountaineers' poise was a difference-maker as the transfer from Butler nailed all six free throws he attempted in the final three minutes. The Mountaineers would close the game with a huge forced turnover that led to two clutch free throws from Tate to seal the win. App State tallied three steals against the Panthers, but none were bigger than that one.
Top Performers
Newcomers dominated the night for App State on Wednesday as both Tre'Von Spillers and Myles Tate reached double-figures. Spillers played one of his best games in his young Mountaineer career, posting his fifth double-double of the year with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Both numbers are his most as a Mountaineer. Tate played a huge game off the bench for App State, providing 15 points, while also dishing out a season-best six assists and pulling in six rebounds. Despite a poor shooting night, Donovan Gregory left his mark with eight points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Next Up
App State will welcome the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to the Holmes Center on Saturday in what will be the Mountaineers' second matchup in the last four games with the Chanticleers. Saturday's contest is part of a doubleheader with the women's team. The women's game tips off at 2 p.m. with the men's game to follow. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
