GREENSBORO, N.C. – Kicking off a three-game stretch away from home to close 2024, the App State Mountaineers (6-3) are set to renew an old rivalry on Saturday as they take on the High Point Panthers (9-2) in a neutral site bout at the Novant Health Fieldhouse in Greensboro. The two teams will meet for the first time since 2012 on Saturday. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
With a 42-point win against Mid-Atlantic Christian on Dec. 3, the Mountaineers are 6-3 on the young season. It's the fourth time in the last 20 years that App State has won six of its first nine games to start the year and the third time under Kerns. App State will look to move to at least 7-3 through its first 10 games for the second consecutive year and just the fourth time since 2000 on Saturday.
Saturday's matchup with High Point will mark the third opponent that the Mountaineers will face this season that won their conference's regular-season championship in 2023-24. App State played two teams (Sam Houston and Colgate) at the Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic in late November that won their respective conference's regular-season title a season ago, defeating both teams.
App State's contest against the Panthers in Greensboro marks the start of a three-game road trip to close the 2024 calendar year. The Mountaineers are in the midst of one of the longest stretches in the country without a home game as they will not play a game at home again until Jan. 2. App State is one of just 18 teams in the country to endure a stretch of at least 30 days without a home game.
The Matchup
- Who: App State vs. High Point
- Where: Novant Health Fieldhouse // Greensboro, N.C.
- When: Saturday, Dec. 14 // 2 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | Daron Vaught (PxP), Reggie Walker (Color)
- Listen: FLAGSHIP 97.3 (North Wilkesboro), 96.3 (Winston-Salem/Greensboro), 1350/96.1 (Asheville), 1250/103.9 (Marion), 790/93.7 (Johnson City) | Matt Present (PxP)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
Closing out their nonconference home schedule, the Mountaineers jumped ahead by nine points in the opening minutes of the contest and never looked back, posting an 85-43 win against Mid-Atlantic Christian on Dec. 3.
Will Coble made his first start in the Black and Gold against the Mustangs, while 14 players saw the floor.
App State shot it well against the Mustangs, making 53 percent of its attempts. It marked the third time this season that App State has shot at least 50 percent from the field. Additionally, the Mountaineers drilled 12 threes at a 40 percent clip, which is the fourth time this season that they have made at least 10 threes in a game.
Alonzo Dodd,
Dior Conners and
CJ Huntley each eclipsed double figures in the game, but none scored more than Dodd, who tallied 19. His 7-7 field-goal percentage marked the first time in the Kerns era that a Mountaineer has made seven straight shots without a miss in a game. Overall, 12 players recorded at least two points in the contest.
Scouting the Mountaineers
App State enters Saturday's game against the Panthers having won five of its last six games. Over those six games, the Mountaineers have posted three double-digit wins, which includes a 22-point win over the Patriot League's reigning champion Colgate.
Continuing the trend of the past three seasons, the Mountaineers enter Saturday's contest as the Sun Belt's leader in scoring defense, allowing just 64 points a game. Over the last six games, App State is giving up just 60 points a game and has kept three opponents (Sam Houston, Colgate and Queens) at least 15 points below their season average.
The Mountaineers have been especially stellar at defending the three over the last eight games, keeping their opponents to just 51 made 3-pointers on 201 attempts (25 percent). During this stretch, App State has held three of its opponents (St. Andrews, Queens and Sam Houston) to a season-worst amount of made threes. Entering Saturday, the Mountaineers boast the 22nd-best defense against the three, keeping their foes to just 27 percent from the long line.
Huntley and
Myles Tate lead the way offensively for the Mountaineers as both sit in the top 20 in the Sun Belt in scoring. Huntley is scoring 14.7 points a game, which is nearly double his career average and is good for the fourth-best tally in the league. As a duo, Tate and Huntley score 27 of the Mountaineers' 73 points a game.
Scouting the Panthers
High Point is 9-2 on the season and enter Saturday's contest as the 13th-ranked team in the most recent Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. The Panthers are the reigning champions of the Big South Conference, tallying 27 wins a season ago. Additionally, High Point was the 2024 College Basketball Invitational runner-up.
The Panthers also boast a talented defense that paces the Big South in scoring defense entering Saturday. High Point gives up 65.8 points a game. The Panther defense is led by the reigning Big South Defensive Player of the Year Juslin Bodo Bodo, who currently leads the conference in blocks and blocks per game.
On the offensive end, head coach Alan Huss' squad sees two players who average at least 15 points per contest in D'Maurian Williams and Kezza Giffa. Giffa, who was the Big South Preseason Player of the Year, is seventh in the league in scoring and has tallied 14 straight games scoring at least 10 points.
Series History
Separated by just 104 miles, App State and High Point have a long history with one another as Saturday's contest will mark the 97th meeting between the two programs. App State's rivalry with High Point will tie Elon as the fourth-longest series with one team in program history, surpassed only by Western Carolina (189 games), ETSU (140 games) and Lenoir-Rhyne (116 games).
Despite the extensive history, Saturday's game will be just the fifth time since 1972 that the Mountaineers and Panthers will square off. Additionally, the two teams will meet for the first time since 2012 on Saturday. High Point owns the edge in the all-time series at 58-38, but the two teams have split the last four meetings.
Head coach
Dustin Kerns and Panther head coach Alan Huss have never met one another as head coaches, but Kerns does own experience against the Panthers, facing them twice in his career. Kerns is 1-2 against High Point. No player on the team has ever taken the floor against the Panthers.
Next Up
Following action in Greensboro, the Mountaineers will open Sun Belt Conference play in Louisiana, where they will square off with the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on Wednesday. It will be the Mountaineers' first trip to the Cajundome in the Kerns era. Tipoff from Lafayette, La., is set for 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
