BOONE, N.C. – Leading by as many as 14 points in the second half, the App State Men's Basketball team (13-9, 7-4 SBC) saw their lead shrink to as little as two points with four minutes to go, but strong shooting late and timely defensive stops helped the Mountaineers close out an 80-76 win at the Holmes Center over the Georgia State Panthers (8-15, 4-7 SBC) on Saturday. Although they made just two first-half 3-pointers, the Mountaineers drilled six of their final nine shots from the long line to seal the deal.
App State's 80 points marked its second-most points scored in a game against a Division I opponent this season, bested only by its 86-point performance against James Madison on Jan. 11. Additionally, App State shot 50.9 percent from the field against the Panthers, marking the seventh time this year that it has eclipsed 50 percent shooting. The Mountaineers have now won 22 straight contests in which they score at least 80 points and are 6-1 this season when shooting over 50 percent from the field.
Dior Conners was electric in the win over the Panthers, specifically in the second half, as he scored 16 of his 18 points in the final frame with four threes. With the Mountaineers scuttling to open the second stanza and Georgia State pushing to close the gap, Conners drilled three long balls within three minutes to right the ship and fend the Panthers off. Conners' four made 3-pointers marked his eighth game this season with at least three made shots from behind the arc.
In another spectacular performance,
Myles Tate led all scorers with 25 points, matching his career high that he set last February against Marshall. It was Tate's 10th 20-point game this season and 13th consecutive game scoring in double figures. Additionally,
CJ Huntley recorded his fifth double-double in his last seven games with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Overall, the Mountaineer starting five combined to score 78 of App State's 80 points against the Panthers.
How it Happened
Taking the floor first in the Saturday doubleheader at Holmes, Georgia State opened the game by scoring eight of the first 10 points to take an early six-point lead. Cesare Edwards sparked the run, scoring five of the eight points, but App State and
CJ Huntley responded with a huge two-handed slam to halt the early spurt.
Nick McMullen's basket at the 15:50 mark of the first half put the Panthers up seven, their largest lead of the contest. Despite trailing by its largest deficit of the game, App State immediately got to work to cut into it, scoring each of the next eight points to take its first lead of the game at 14-13. Conners, Tate and
Jackson Threadgill kicked off the run with easy baskets and then
Alonzo Dodd's physicality resulted in free throws to send App State ahead with an 8-0 run.
A Toneari Lane layup ended the 8-0 Mountaineer run, but that didn't stop the App State offense as Tate and Huntley each tallied baskets to put App State up four by the 10:29 mark. A 3-pointer by Brown brought the score back within one point, but another loud slam dunk from Huntley brought the Mountaineer crowd to their feet as the Mountaineers led by three.
Yet another rim-rattling dunk by Huntley gave App State a three-point lead after Zarique Nutter scored, which sparked an extended 10-3 run to help App State run out ahead by seven by the under-four timeout. Tate was the catalyst of this run as he scored seven straight points before Huntley finished it at the free-throw line.
App State stormed ahead by 10 points, its largest lead of the first half thanks to
Jalil Beaubrun's hook shot in the lane, but the Panthers were able to bring the score back within three with just 41 seconds to play in the half. Seeing their double-digit lead evaporate, head coach
Dustin Kerns, who celebrated his birthday on Saturday, turned to Tate for a late basket to cap off a high-scoring half. It was the third straight game in which the Mountaineers have led at the halftime break.
Led by Tate and Huntley's 26 combined points, the Mountaineers scored 38 points in the first half. Although they scored at a high rate, the Mountaineers missed all but two of their nine 3-point attempts in the opening frame, despite shooting 45 percent from the field. On the other side, Georgia State kept itself in the game by drilling 50 percent of its first-half threes. Because of that, the App State fans were in store for a fun second half.
It was a bit of a flat start for App State to open the second half, which allowed the Panthers to trim their deficit back to four early. Having none of the comeback effort, Conners provided a jolt with a three, and then Huntley tapped in a missed shot to put App State up nine points just two minutes into the final half.
A basket by Edwards cut the Mountaineer advantage back down to six but Conners and Beaubrun combined to push App State up 14, its largest lead of the game, with an 8-0 run that was capped off by two Conners' 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Conners tallied three 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the second half.
The Mountaineers continued to maintain their double-digit advantage by the under-12 timeout as Tate scored five consecutive points to give him 19 for the game to that point. But the Panthers began to generate momentum as they cut their deficit down to just five points by the under-eight break. Edwards played a huge factor in bringing the score within five as he capped off his 24-point afternoon with two baskets in three possessions.
After a put-back layup by Beaubrun to halt the Panther run, Conners showed off his driving ability as he wiggled his way into the paint for a score to put App State back up by seven with five minutes to play.
Needing a jump to close the game, Georgia State found that with a huge shot by Malachi Brown to make it just a two-point game with four minutes to go. However, Conners' fourth three of the half quickly stymied Georgia State, putting the Mountaineers back up five at the under-four timeout.
Conners' 3-pointer was just the make App State needed to close the game. Tate soared App State ahead six with a reverse layup in the paint and Beaubrun pushed the Mountaineers ahead eight with a couple of free throws. Tate capped off his near career-high day with a free throw, swelling the Mountaineer lead to six with 39 seconds to play.
Georgia State made it tighter than some Mountaineer fans would have wanted by scoring five points to make it a three-point game with 32 seconds to play, but a free throw by Dodd put the score out of reach. The App State defense forced two straight misses to close the game and Huntley's 14th rebound of the game secured App State's seventh Sun Belt win of the season.
Top Performers
Myles Tate's 25 points, tying his career high, led all scorers on Saturday as he tallied his 10th game scoring at least 20 points this season. He is the only Sun Belt player as of Saturday with at least 10 20-point games this year.
Dior Conners' electrifying second half helped him finish second in scoring on the team with 18 points, his second game scoring at least 18 points in his last five games. 16 of those 18 points came in the second half, as well as all four of his 3-pointers. For the fifth time in Sun Belt play,
CJ Huntley recorded a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Huntley had his double-double just two minutes and 19 seconds into the second half.
Up Next
App State is set to welcome the Southern Miss Golden Eagles to the Holmes Center to cap off their three-game homestand on Wednesday. It will mark the first trip that Southern Miss has ever made to the Holmes Center. Tipoff from Boone is slated for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
