BOONE, N.C. – After falling at home for the first time in 626 days, the App State Mountaineers (0-1) hit the floor again on Wednesday against the St. Andrews Knights (0-1) at the Holmes Convocation Center. It will mark the first meeting between the two teams since 2019. Wednesday's contest will be a part of a doubleheader with the Mountaineer women. The women will tip off at 5 p.m. with the men to follow approximately 30 minutes after. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.
The Mountaineers kicked off season No. 105 of basketball in the High Country and season No. 25 in the Holmes Convocation Center on Monday. Head coach
Dustin Kerns is in his sixth season at the helm of the program after being named Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 2023-24 – App State's first conference Coach of the Year since Houston Fancher in 2003.
Despite the loss last time out, the Mountaineers have won 16 of their last 20 games in the Holmes Convocation Center. Of those 16 wins, 11 have come by double-digits.
Six players made their NCAA Division I debut on Monday in
Michael Marcus Jr.,
Jason Clarke Jr.,
Anthony Alston,
Jamil Muttilib,
Luke Wilson and
Dior Conners. Of those six players, five recorded a basket with Marcus Jr. leading the bunch with nine.
The Matchup
- Who: App State vs. St. Andrews
- Where: Holmes Convocation Center // Boone, N.C.
- When: Wednesday, Nov. 6 // 7:30 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: ESPN+ | Corey Hodges (PxP), John Reisterer (Color)
- Listen: 97.3 WKBC, 93.7/790 WETB, 103.9/1250 WBRM, 96.1/1350 WZGM, 96.3 W24CCFM | Matt Present (PxP)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
App State fell to Miami (Ohio) in the first installment of the second year of the MAC-SBC Challenge 63-77 on Monday. It was App State's first loss at home since Feb. 18, 2023.
Myles Tate led all scorers in the game with 21 points, marking his fourth career 20-point game. Additionally, he led the team in assists and steals. Tate's 21 points are the third-most points scored by a Sun Belt player thus far this season.
Jackson Threadgill,
CJ Huntley and Michael Marcus each tallied nine points in the game, while
Luke Wilson racked up six points on 3-3 shooting. Overall, six players recorded their first baskets in a Mountaineer uniform against the RedHawks.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State enters the 2024-25 season as the reigning Sun Belt Conference regular-season champions – the program's first outright conference championship since 1979. The Mountaineers will look to become the fourth Sun Belt team to repeat as regular-season champs since 2010.
The Black and Gold have turned the Holmes Convocation Center into one of the Sun Belt's toughest venues since Kerns took over the program. Not only did the Mountaineers post a perfect 15-0 record in 2023-24, but they outscored their opponents by 20 points a game in Boone. The loss on Monday marked the first time a team has beaten the Mountaineers by at least 14 points since Jan. 8, 2022.
Resiliency has shown for the Mountaineers following losses in recent years as they have won six of their last nine games following losses. App State went 3-2 following a loss last year, which included a 30-point win against UNCW after a loss to Oregon State and a 25-point victory over Coastal Carolina after a setback to Troy.
Through the first day of play in the Sun Belt Conference, Tate sits in the top 10 in points (third), assists (seventh) and steals (first). Tate was one of just four players in the Sun Belt Conference to tally a 20-point game on Monday night.
Scouting the Knights
St. Andrews is 0-1 on the young season, losing a tight battle to the Mid-Atlantic Christian Mustangs on Saturday. The Knights crashed the offensive glass effectively, tallying 13 offensive rebounds in the game, but poor shooting led to the defeat.
Sophomore guard Jordan Taylor paced the Knights' offensive attack on Saturday as he tallied a team-high 15 points. Three other players reached double-figures against the Mustangs in Brodie Clark, Jaylin McDuffie and Christopher Coleman.
Randy Hernandez is in his ninth season as the head coach for St. Andrews. He has been on the SAU athletics staff for over a decade and has coached with the women's basketball team and the soccer team in his time with the Knights.
Series History
App State and St. Andrews will meet for just the second time on Wednesday, last meeting in 2019. In that 2019 game, the Mountaineers took down the Knights 90-58 in Boone.
No player on the active roster has ever seen the floor against the Knights.
Next Up
Following Sunday's game, the Mountaineers will trek to Madison, Wisc., to face tradition Big Ten power Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. It will be the first time App State will face a current Big Ten opponent since 2019. Tipoff is scheduled for noon ET (11 a.m. CT) and can be streamed on Big Ten+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
