BOONE, N.C. – In a game that saw nine lead changes and nine ties through the first 26 minutes of play, the App State men's basketball team dominated the final 14 minutes of the second half to post a commanding 67-49 win over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Thursday to open Sun Belt play. The Mountaineers' win marks the third time under head coach
Dustin Kerns that they have started Sun Belt play 1-0.
App State (8-5, 1-0 SBC) struggled to take care of the basketball early on with nine first-half turnovers, but once it cleaned up the turnovers, it embarked on a lengthy 31-13 run to close the game. The Mountaineers turned the ball over just three times in the final frame, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 67 percent from three against a stingy Chanticleer (6-6, 0-1 SBC) defense.
The Mountaineers were once again stout on the defensive side of the ball, keeping the Chanticleers to 49 points, their second-lowest scoring output of the season. Thursday's defensive showing marked the sixth time since the 2022-23 season that App State has held a Sun Belt opponent to 50 or fewer points. Coastal Carolina shot just 30 percent from the field in the game, and didn't make a second-half 3-pointer after drilling four in the first half.
App State's rebounding was strong again on Thursday as it posted its fourth straight game with at least 40 rebounds. App State outrebounded Coastal Carolina, which came into play with the 15th-highest rebounding average in the country, by five. This mark included a 36-25 advantage on the defensive glass.
How it Happened
Coastal Carolina scored the game's first points on its first possession of the game, but App State quickly responded with five straight points from
Alonzo Dodd and
Eren Banks to take its first lead of the game. Dodd once again found his way to the basket for a score before
Luke Wilson hit on a pair of free throws to give App State a four-point lead early on.
Kasen Jennings answered a DaJohn Craig 3-pointer with a pull-up jump shot from the short corner to make the score 16-13 at the 13:35 mark of the first half, and the score remained that as play hit the under-12 break. Coastal eventually tied the score at 16 out of the timeout, but
Jason Clarke Jr., who scored a clutch eight points off the bench, got into the paint for a layup to put App State back on top with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half.
A Reggie Hill three, Coastal Carolina's fourth and final 3-pointer of the game, helped give the Chanticleers a one-point lead, their first since the score was 3-0, with 8:41 left in the half. Jennings gave App State its lead right back with a layup before Coastal Carolina tied the score at 20 with a free throw.
The two teams jockeyed for position over the next several minutes, as there were two ties through three minutes, but a free throw by
Chad Moodie out of the under-four timeout gave App State a one-point lead with two minutes to play until halftime. Coastal Carolina answered the free throw with four straight points to go up by three, its largest lead of the game, but Jennings and Dodd tied the score at 28 as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Dodd and Jennings paced the App State offense in the first half, tallying eight points and nine points, respectively, but Coastal Carolina was able to keep itself in the game by forcing several App State turnovers. The Chanticleers also buried four first-half threes compared to just one by App State.
A Joshua Beadle floater in the lane helped give Coastal Carolina a two-point lead on the first possession out of the halftime break, but Banks and Wilson connected on two straight shots to force another lead change. Rasheed Jones tied the score again at 32, but Dodd put App State up by three by nailing all three free throws after being hit on a three at the 16:35 mark of the second half.
For the final time in the game, App State tied the score at 36 after Wilson hit on one of two free throws at the 14:09 mark of the final frame. The two teams endured almost a two-minute scoring drought before both Clarke Jr. and Jennings nailed 3-pointers, fully shifting the momentum in favor of App State, as it led by six with 11:34 to play.
App State went up by double digits after
Michael Marcus Jr. and Dodd connected, and Clarke Jr. shot the Mountaineers ahead 13 with his second 3-pointer of the second half. This forced a Coastal Carolina timeout, and the Holmes Center crowd rose to their feet as the Mountaineers looked poised to land a crushing blow.
After a layup by the Chanticleers, Jennings raced down the floor and hit a turnaround jump shot to increase the App State lead to 14 with 7:03 to play in the game. That lead shrank to nine after Coastal Carolina hit on three free throws, but Dodd, Jennings and Banks scored six points to make it a 12-point game by the under-four timeout.
The Mountaineers put the finishing touches on a solid win to open Sun Belt play after Dodd crossed over his defender and scored a layup, and Marcus Jr. forced his way to the basket for a layup through contact. App State forced one last Chanticleer missed 3-pointer before the game ended, and when the horn sounded, App State had claimed a convincing win thanks to a strong second-half performance.
Top Performers
Dodd and Jennings led all scorers with 21 points and 19 points, respectively. Dodd's 21-point outing marked his second straight game with at least 20 points. He also rebounded well with seven rebounds, which matched his season high. Jennings fell one point shy of his third-straight 20-point game, but his impact was felt in the second half as 11 of his 19 points came in the final frame. The graduate guard also rebounded well with a season-best seven rebounds. Clarke Jr. played huge second-half minutes for App State, drilling two threes and matching his career best with eight points. Clarke Jr. played 19 minutes and was a part of almost every play during the Mountaineers' game-clinching run.
Up Next
App State will wrap up its 2025 home schedule with another conference clash against the Georgia State Panthers on Saturday. Tip off is slated for 1 p.m., and the game can be streamed on ESPN+.
