WILMINGTON, N.C. – After a Dorian Finister fastbreak layup gave Sam Houston (3-3) a one-point lead with 54 seconds to play, the Mountaineers gave the ball to
Myles Tate looking to answer. With the shot clock dwindling, Tate dribbled to the left of the free-throw line and fired up a fadeaway shot that hit nothing but the bottom to give App State (4-2) a 64-63 lead with 24 seconds to play.
On the other end, the Bearkats and Marcus Boykin drew a shooting foul, but Boykin injured his elbow on the play. The injury sent Kalifa Sakho, a 50 percent free-throw shooter, to the line where he missed both free throws.
Jalil Beaubrun grabbed the board and sank both free throws to shoot the Mountaineers ahead by three with eight seconds to play. The Bearkats called a timeout to draw a play with five seconds in regulation. Unable to foul before Sam Houston could get the shot up,
Jackson Threadgill got in front of Lamar Wilkerson to force an airball and secured App State's third win in a row, 66-63 the final score.
App State was stellar defensively against a high-powered Sam Houston offense, keeping the Bearkats to just 39 percent shooting and 3-14 from three. The Bearkats came into the Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic having made at least 10 threes in every game this season and were shooting at a 44 percent rate. Sam Houston's 63 points and 39 percent shooting mark were both season-lows.
It was by far the tightest game the Mountaineers have played this season as the lead changed hands 16 times in the game and was tied 11 times. Additionally, the biggest lead for either team was just five points. Coming into Wednesday's contest, the Mountaineers had seen just one game be decided by 10 points or less. App State is now 2-0 in games decided by 10 points or fewer this season.
Fresh off his game-winning buzzer-beater against William & Mary last Sunday,
Dior Conners tallied his best game in his young Mountaineer career, scoring a team-high 19 points while shooting 9-10 from the free-throw line. Tate and Threadgill also eclipsed double figures against the Bearkats, scoring 17 and 11 respectively. Tate's free-throw line jay with 24 seconds to play capped off a 10-point second half.
How it Happened
Playing in a game in Wilmington for the first time since 2008, App State opened up the scoring at the Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic as
Dior Conners drilled a three to get his season-best night off to a hot start. Sam Houston would take a brief 4-3 lead by the 18:04 mark, but Beaubrun and Threadgill's first baskets put the Mountaineers back ahead by the first media timeout.
A Wilkerson jumper put Sam Houston back ahead out of the break, marking the fourth lead change to that point, but a play designed to get Conners a three resulted in a shooting foul sending the junior to the line. He nailed all three free throws, putting the Mountaineers back ahead with 15:14 to play in the first half.
With the game tied at 12, Threadgill went on a personal 5-0 run to put App State ahead by its largest lead of the game at the under-12 timeout. Threadgill nailed a driving layup to put the Mountaineers ahead 14-12 before drilling a three in the left corner off a sweet find by
Alonzo Dodd.
An extended scoreless spell by both teams slowed this fast-paced contest in the middle stages of the opening frame as neither team scored for nearly three minutes. Before a Wilkerson three at the 8:47 mark, the Bearkats had missed 11 shots in a row. During the scoring drought, the two teams combined to miss 14 straight shots.
Tate's aggressiveness at the point of the offense helped end App State's scoring woes as he accounted for five straight points to push the Mountaineers ahead by four with seven minutes to play. Sam Houston cut its deficit to two, but
Michael Marcus Jr.'s hustle on the offensive glass paid off with a basket and the Mountaineers led by four by the third media stoppage of the game.
The game continued to be close as play wound down in the first half as neither team could gain control. The Bearkats took the lead at 28-27 after a Kian Scroggins layup, marking their first lead since it was 8-7. The Bearkat lead grew to three with 2:49 to play, but Conners' step-back jumper from the right baseline closed the gap to one, capping off his nine-point first half.
Sam Houston scored once more to take a modest three-point lead as the first half came to a close. The lead changed hands seven times in the opening stanza. Threadgill and Conners were both stellar in the first half, accounting for nine points each. Additionally, the Mountaineer defense allowed just three Sam Houston threes in the first half, which would be its only long balls of the game.
Out of the half, Sam Houston's lead grew to its largest of the game at five points after a pair of Boykin freebies, but Tate's strong second half opened up with a three from the right wing to close the Mountaineer deficit to two with 18:46 to play.
App State took the lead back at 38-37 by the under-16 timeout as Tate and Conners combined to score five straight points. Tate drilled another shot from the right wing to put the Mountaineers ahead for the first time since it was 27-26.
The lead changed four times before the next media stoppage. The Bearkats took the lead back with just over 15 minutes to play as Scroggins made a three, but his basket was answered by a
CJ Huntley three, his first of the game. By the under-12 break, the Mountaineers had raced ahead by three points thanks to a
Jamil Muttilib floater in the paint, his first field goal of the game.
Free throws from Threadgill and a jumper by Muttilib put App State back ahead by five at the 9:25 mark. The Bearkats answered, however, scoring the final four points before the next media stoppage to bring the game back within a point as the minutes ticked away.
Sam Houston used a 9-0 run to take a four-point lead with just over five minutes to play. The Mountaineers struggled to take care of the basketball during that run, turning the ball over five times.
Regaining their composure, the Mountaineers closed the gap to just two points on Conners' 16th points of the game. The Mountaineer deficit shrunk down to one after Beaubrun spun his way to the rim and laid home a layup. As play progressed under four minutes, it was a one-point game.
Conners gave App State the lead back out of the final media timeout as he was fouled on yet another three-point attempt and calmly sank all three freebies. Sam Houston tied the game at 60 after Wilkerson hit a jumper, but a Huntley layup off a pocket pass from Tate put the Mountaineers ahead again with two and a half minutes to play.
Now trailing by one, the Bearkats forced a wild hook shot from Tate and quickly raced down the floor to go ahead by one with 54 seconds in regulation. Sam Houston head coach Chris Mudge called a timeout, which allowed App State to calm itself. Head coach
Dustin Kerns put the ball in Tate's hands, and he calmly stepped back at the free throw line and buried a tough shot to put the Mountaineers ahead by one with 24 seconds left.
On the other end, Boykin drew a shooting foul on Beaubrun, but he fell hard on his elbow and couldn't shoot the free throws. This sent Sakho to the line where he missed both free throws. The rebound came down to Beaubrun and he drilled both free throws on the other end to give the Mountaineers a three-point cushion with eight seconds.
App State called a timeout and were going to intentionally foul to prevent a three from even getting up, but Sam Houston came out of the timeout quickly and got a look from behind the line. With the ball in Wilkerson's hands in the corner, Threadgill got his hand up and forced an airball. Beaubrun punched the ball away and the timer ticked down to zero, giving the Mountaineers their third straight win.
Top Performers
After nailing five threes and scoring 15 points last Sunday,
Dior Conners bested that performance with a team-high 19 points. Conners was especially good from the free-throw line, shooting 9-10.
Myles Tate was good yet again, scoring 17 points, which included the go-ahead basket. Tate has now scored in double figures in each of his last three games.
Jackson Threadgill poured in 11 points and helped stabilize App State's offense in the early stages of the game as he scored nine in the first half.
Up Next
App State will take the Thanksgiving holiday off and return to the floor against the Colgate Raiders on Friday. It will be the first meeting between the two teams and App State's first game against a current Patriot League opponent since 1997. Tipoff from Trask Coliseum is slated for noon and can be streamed on FloCollege.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
