BOONE, N.C. – Back on its home floor for the final time in the early portion of its nonconference schedule, the App State men's basketball team dominated all facets of the game against the Virginia-Lynchburg Dragons to post a 133-45 win at the Holmes Center on Wednesday. The victory was head coach
Dustin Kerns' 150th of his coaching career.
App State (5-5) grabbed 82 rebounds against the Dragons (0-14), falling three short of the program record of 85 that was set in the 1951-52 season. The Mountaineers saw four players achieve a double-double in
Andrin Njock (19 points, 16 rebounds),
Michael Marcus Jr. (19 points, 12 rebounds),
Chad Moodie (15 points, 11 rebounds) and
Luke Wilson (16 points, 10 rebounds). It was the first time in the Kerns era that four different Mountaineers recorded a double-double in the same game.
In addition to the rebounding numbers, the Mountaineers' 133 points marked the third-most points scored in a game in the Sun Belt era, falling just nine short of the program record of 142 set in 2022. 11 different Mountaineers scored in the game, and seven players reached double figures. Nobody scored more than
Jacari Brim, who totaled a career-best 20 points on 7-9 shooting. Brim also dished out a team-best eight assists and grabbed five boards.
The Mountaineers were very efficient on the offensive side of the ball and attacked the paint with purpose against the Dragons. App State outscored Virginia-Lynchburg by 54 points (76-22) in the lane and shot 58.4 percent from the floor. App State's 58 percent clip from the field marked its highest since shooting 60.3 percent against UNCW on Nov. 21, 2023.
How it Happened
Setting the tone for the rest of the game early on, App State cracked the scoreboard first thanks to a putback layup from Marcus Jr., which was the first of 53 second-chance points scored by App State in the game. A pair of Wilson free throws quickly made the score 4-0 before
Eren Banks hit on a floater in the paint to make it a six-point game a little less than two minutes into the contest.
Virginia-Lynchburg got on the board with a free throw, but the Mountaineers responded by scoring the game's next 12 points to go ahead by 17 by the 13:51 mark of the first half. Marcus Jr., Wilson and
Kasen Jennings started the run with buckets before Banks and Njock finished it off by getting into the paint for easy scores.
Brim scored five straight points to push App State ahead by 20 by the under-12 media timeout, and buckets by Wilson and Jennings a few possessions later quickly made it a 30-point game. After the Dragons scored to end an extended 30-2 run, Moodie crashed the offensive glass hard and slammed home a putback dunk to make the score 38-5 by the under-eight break.
Showcasing his energy off the Mountaineer bench, Moodie provided an exclamation mark with three dunks on three consecutive possessions before the final media timeout to give him eight points, which bested his season high. Brim continued his strong opening half of play by hitting on a layup and a 3-pointer to push the Mountaineers ahead by 37 with just under four minutes to go in the half.
The Dragons hit on a three to end another extended Mountaineer run, but Jennings quickly answered by drilling his second three of the half to give App State a 39-point advantage. Wilson made it a 40-point game with a free throw, and Marcus Jr. and Jennings helped close a strong first half by netting scores to give the Mountaineers a 62-21 lead into the halftime locker room.
Marcus Jr. led all scorers in the opening half with 12 points, while also tallying a double-double in just 11 minutes of play. It was his second career double-double. Brim and Wilson also eclipsed double figures in the opening half with 11 and 10 points, respectively. App State shot the ball well as it went 23-43 in the half.
App State exploded to open the final half, embarking on a 22-0 run over the first five minutes to go ahead by 63. Wilson, Jennings,
Alonzo Dodd and Marcus Jr. played catalyst during the run as each scored in rapid succession.
Njock and Moodie capped off the long Mountaineer run with a pair of dunks before the Dragons got into the lane for a layup.
Cameron O'Kelley responded to the Virginia-Lynchburg basket by nailing a three from the right wing before Brim pushed App State over the 90-point mark with 12:26 to go in the game by hitting a three of his own.
Grant Clayton sent the Mountaineers over the century mark for the first time this season by dunking home a one-handed pass by Brim.
Luke Ledford followed Clayton's slam by making a layup for his first points of the season, and Marcus Jr. gave App State a 73-point lead with a layup to give him 19 points, his career high.
After seeing five straight points from Virginia-Lynchburg, Njock helped level App State by scoring four consecutive points to give him 19 for the game. A layup by Brim and a 3-pointer from Ledford propelled the Mountaineers over 120 points by the final media timeout, which marked the first time App State had eclipsed 120 points since 2022.
Two more Ledford 3-pointers and a second Clayton jam gave App State 130 points for the game with 1:11 to play. Brim's 20th point of the night helped give the Mountaineers their final tally of 133 with 13 seconds to go. When the horn sounded, the Mountaineers had claimed a dominant, wire-to-wire win over the Dragons for their fourth home win of the season.
Top Performers
In a game filled with individual superlatives, Brim's 20-point outing paced all scorers and marked App State's fourth 20-point game of the season. The freshman also paced the team in assists with eight, the most in a game by a Mountaineer this season, and drilled four of App State's 14 3-pointers. Marcus Jr. and Njock both finished with 19 points, and both finished with double-doubles. Additionally, both Njock and Marcus Jr. set career highs in rebounding as Marcus Jr. hauled in 12 boards while Njock grabbed 16. Wilson and Moodie were both strong down low as both finished with double-doubles, while combining for 31 points and 21 rebounds. Wilson's double-double was the first of his career.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will visit another in-state opponent after an eight-day hiatus, traveling to Greenville on Thursday, Dec. 11, for a meeting with the ECU Pirates. This game will mark the start of a four-game series between the two teams that was announced in June. Tip off from Minges Coliseum is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
