BOONE, N.C. - After posting its first win of the 2025-26 season on Wednesday, the App State men's basketball team is set to conclude its quick two-game home stand on Sunday by welcoming the North Carolina Central Eagles to the Holmes Center. App State has won each of the previous two meetings with the Eagles. Tip off from Boone is slated for 1 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Sunday's game against N.C. Central will mark the second straight contest in which App State will take on an opponent from in-state. In nonconference play, the Mountaineers will take on a
Dustin Kerns-era high seven teams from North Carolina. In November alone, the Mountaineers will play five games against North Carolina opponents (Carolina Univ., N.C. Central, Charlotte, Elon, UNC Asheville). Since the start of the 2023-24 season, App State is 5-3 against in-state foes.
App State's home-opening win over Carolina Univ. on Wednesday marked its 10th win in its last 11 nonconference home games. The only loss at home in nonconference play came in last year's season opener to Miami (Ohio). Entering play on Sunday, App State is 26-4 at the Holmes Center since the start of the 2023-24 season.
Head coach
Dustin Kerns sits on the precipice of a few major milestones entering Sunday, as he owns 146 career wins as a head coach, meaning he needs four more wins for 150 in his career. He also needs just 19 wins to pass Francis Hoover for the fourth-most head coaching wins at App State and 23 wins to pass Houston Fancher for the third-most.
The Matchup
- Who: App State vs. N.C. Central
- Where: Holmes Convocation Center // Boone, N.C.
- When: Sunday, Nov. 9 // 1 p.m.
Tune In
- Watch: Watch (ESPN+) | Bryson Byrnes (PxP), John Reisterer (Color), Bob Dillner (Sideline)
- Listen: FLAGSHIP 97.3 (North Wilkesboro), 950 AM/92.7 FM (Greensboro), 790 AM/93.7 FM (Johnson City) | Matt Present (PxP)
- Live Stats: appstatesports.com
Last Time Out
In the first home game of the 2025-26 season, App State got out to a 13-0 start over the Carolina University Bruins and ran away with a 92-46 win on its home floor on Wednesday. The Mountaineers led by as many as 56 points and kept the Bruins to just a 29.8 percent mark from the field in the game.
Thirteen players saw the floor for the Mountaineers (1-1), and 12 players scored at least one basket. App State was paced by a career night from
Luke Wilson, who tallied 14 points in just 16 minutes of action. Wilson missed just one of his six shots, while also being active on the defensive side of the ball, swatting two shots. App State saw four players reach double figures in the game, as
Kasen Jennings,
Eren Banks and
Michael Marcus Jr. each eclipsed 10 points.
Defensively, the Mountaineers' 46 points allowed marked the fourth time since the start of last season that they have kept their opponent below the 50-point threshold. App State extended its winning streak to 25 when allowing fewer than 50 points. The Mountaineers were all over the floor defensively, as they recorded 12 steals and 10 blocked shots.
Scouting the Mountaineers
The Mountaineers have shown the ability to score the ball on their home floor in recent history. Last season, App State averaged 75 points a game at the Holmes Center, compared to just 65 points a game in contests played away from home. Since the start of the 2024-25 season, the Mountaineers have tallied 12 games with at least 70 points, and 10 of them have come at home. Additionally, each of the last five 80-point games that App State has posted has come at the Holmes Center.
Entering play on Sunday, App State has crashed the offensive glass hard, giving it the best offensive rebounding average in the Sun Belt Conference at 17.5 a game. The Mountaineers tallied 17 offensive rebounds on Monday night against the Chippewas and 18 more against the Bruins on Wednesday. The Mountaineers' 18 offensive rebounds on Wednesday marked their most in a game since also tallying 18 against Georgia State on Feb. 3, 2024. The last time App State grabbed at least 17 offensive rebounds in back-to-back games was the first two games of the 2023-24 season (Oakland City and Northern Illinois).
Because App State's offensive rebounding rate has been so high through the first two games, second-chance points have become a major contributor to its offensive attack. Entering Sunday, App State has scored 41 second-chance points (21 vs. Carolina Univ. and 20 vs. Central Michigan), good for 26.7 percent of its total points scored this season. The Mountaineers haven't tallied back-to-back games with at least 20 second-chance points since recording 24 against Central Penn on Dec. 5, 2023, and 20 against Queens on Dec. 13, 2023.
Three Mountaineers enter Sunday averaging 10 or more points in Wilson, Jennings and Dodd. Five Mountaineers have recorded a double-digit point game thus far this season. Kerns has emphasized the depth the Mountaineers have this season, and that has been on display as six players enter Sunday averaging at least seven points.
Scouting the Eagles
N.C. Central enters play on Sunday in Boone with a 0-2 record, but both losses have come to ACC opponents (NC State and Virginia). The Eagles will play five high-major opponents in nonconference play, which includes three ACC opponents, a B1G foe (Penn State) and an SEC team (Kentucky).
The Eagles are led offensively by Gage Lattimore and Khouri Carvey, who enter play on Sunday each averaging better than 15 points a game. Lattimore has recorded two 20-point games already on the young season, which includes a 25-point outburst vs. Virginia on Friday night. Carvey scored 19 points against the Wolfpack on Monday.
Head coach LeVelle Moton, who is in his 17th season as head coach at N.C. Central, has seen his teams force turnovers on defense in the last six seasons. Since 2019-20, N.C. Central has finished in the top 15 in the nation in turnovers forced per game four times. This includes a seventh-place finish nationally last season.
Series History
Separated by just 167 miles, App State and N.C. Central will meet for just the fourth time on Sunday, with Sunday's game marking the third consecutive game in Boone between the two teams. It has historically been a tight series, despite the small sample size, as each game has been decided by less than 10 points.
App State owns the edge in the series 2-1, and Kerns is 1-0 against the Eagles in his career. App State and N.C. Central last met on Nov. 8, 2022, in a game that was decided in overtime and saw App State take home a 79-74 victory.
Next Up
App State will next head to Columbus, Ohio, for a meeting with B1G foe Ohio State on Tuesday. It will mark the second straight season that App State will take on a B1G opponent. Tip off from Value City Arena is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on B1G Network Plus.
