BOONE, N.C. – Although it fell behind by three points after a Southern Miss (10-14, 5-7 SBC) steal and a slam by Denijay Harris, the App State Men's Basketball team (14-9, 8-4 SBC) rebounded and scored the game's final five points to close out its three-game home swing with a 60-58 win over the Golden Eagles on Wednesday. Heroics by
Dior Conners to tie the game at 58 apiece with 38 seconds to play, followed by a fierce two-handed dunk by
CJ Huntley won the Mountaineers the game at the buzzer.
The buzzer-beating win was App State's second win at the horn this season, with the other coming on Nov. 24 against William & Mary.
Myles Tate, who has been regarded as one of the most clutch Mountaineers in recent memories, was a part of both buzzer-beaters as his assist to a wide-open Huntley in the paint led to the dunk. Tate's assist was his 11th of the game, setting his new career high that was set against the Tribe back in November (10 assists).
It wasn't the prettiest of ballgames for the Mountaineers as they shot just 44 percent from the field, 22 percent from 3-point land, 47 percent from the free-throw line and turned the ball over 12 times, but as good teams do, they found a way to win. The Mountaineer defense turned up the heat against the Golden Eagles, forcing them to shoot 2-17 from the 3-point line and 23-63 from the field. USM's two 3-point field goals were the fewest the Mountaineers have allowed this season.
Despite not scoring in the first half,
Jalil Beaubrun played a huge part in keeping App State from falling behind as eight of his 12 second-half points came in the final eight minutes of play. The senior from Miramar, Fla., accounted for six straight points before Conners' game-tying three. Additionally, his block off the backboard helped lead to Conners' 3-pointer as he provided winning play after winning play against Southern Miss.
How it Happened
In the Golden Eagles' first trip to Boone in almost exactly 34 years, Harris started the game's scoring with a dunk in the paint off an App State turnover. The Golden Eagles scored again to make it 4-0 early, but Huntley's first basket of the night put the Mountaineers on the board for the first time to make it 4-2 at the 17:47 mark.
Southern Miss quickly went ahead by four points, its largest lead of the game, thanks to DeAntoni Gordon's basket. The Mountaineers started the game poorly from the field on their home court as they failed to convert on seven of their first eight chances. However, the Mountaineers' free-throw shooting helped maintain them in the early stages as
Alonzo Dodd and Conners got to the stripe for freebies.
A pair of Harris free throws made it 8-5 in favor of the Golden Eagles at the 13:12 mark, but a three by
Jackson Threadgill tied the game at eight apiece, which was the Mountaineers' first 3-pointer of the game. The Mountaineer defense forced 10 missed shots in a row after going down 6-2, which played a major factor in allowing the game to remain close.
After the under-12 media timeout, Huntley began to take over the game, scoring seven straight points to put the Mountaineers on top for the first time in the game by the 8:06 mark of the first half. A dunk by
Luke Wilson energized the App State crowd before the big man from Huntersville got going with a 3-pointer from the top of the key and a pair of easy baskets in the paint.
Conners' first three of the game tied the contest once again at 22 as both teams began to find their offense after a slow start. Huntley buried another three to answer a Neftali Alvarez floater on the other end before Tate wiggled his way into the lane and finished an acrobatic layup through contact to give App State a two-point lead with 3:38 to go in the half.
Both teams endured a nearly two-minute scoring drought before Andre Curbelo netted a mid-range jumper to tie the score for the fifth time in the half. Needing a jolt to close the opening stanza, the Mountaineers turned to Tate who provided the half's final three points to propel App State ahead by three when the horn sounded.
The spark provided by Huntley guided App State to a three-point lead at halftime as he scored 12 points to lead all scorers. He missed just one shot in the opening half. Tate was also a catalyst on the offensive end with eight points and six assists, but the defense of App State shined as it held the Golden Eagles to just two 3-pointers in the opening half.
Similarly to the start of the game, the Mountaineers sputtered a bit to open the second half, missing their first two shots and turning the ball over twice, allowing Southern Miss to close the gap to one. Free throws by Huntley stopped the drought and then Beaubrun's first points of the night came in a thunderous way as he powered home a dunk to swell the Mountaineer lead to five with 16:42 to go.
Despite surrendering four straight points by the under-16 timeout, Beaubrun and Huntley combined to go on another 6-0 scoring run to push the Mountaineers in front by a game-high seven points with 13:12 to play. Huntley had scored 18 of App State's 41 points to that time. Wilson's presence in the paint extended the Mountaineer lead back to seven by the under-12 break as he provided a quality 12 minutes off the bench.
Another hustle play on the glass by Wilson gave App State a 45-38 lead out of the timeout, but Southern Miss regained itself and scored seven of the game's next 11 points to close the gap down to four points with 7:49 to go. The Golden Eagles eventually took the lead with 4:01 to play as the Mountaineers went cold from the field between breaks.
All the momentum fell in favor of Southern Miss late as Curbelo drilled a clutch shot with 2:20 to play in the game to push the Golden Eagles ahead three. Desperate for a response, the Mountaineers found it thanks to a putback layup by Beaubrun to make it a one-point game with 1:46 to play. Beaubrun's tip-in gave him 12 points, all coming in the second half.
On the defensive side, App State forced a stop with a block by Beaubrun off the backboard that led to a runout for App State on the other end. However, Southern Miss recovered nicely and forced a Tate turnover in the open floor, resulting in a dunk to put it up three with just under a minute to play.
That's when things got exciting. With the ball in Tate's hands in the backcourt, the point guard drove the left wing and dished to an open Conners in the corner. The sweet-shooting Conners drilled the three, which tied the game with 38 seconds to go. Southern Miss generated two chances to go back ahead, but fell short on both tries as Curbelo and Watson missed shots. The rebound fell into Beaubrun's hands and head coach
Dustin Kerns called his last timeout to draw up a play.
With one of the most clutch players in recent App State men's basketball history on his side, Kerns drew a play designed for Tate to win the game in regulation. The Golden Eagles guessed right and sent three defenders at Tate, but his open eyes saw Huntley who dunked home the game-winning shot with 0.4 seconds on the clock. Tate's assist to Huntley was his career-high 11th of the game, while Huntley's dunk capped off a 20-point performance.
Southern Miss had less than a second to tie the game but threw the ball away and the horn sounded. App State and the heroics of Huntley had won the game in dramatic fashion, securing its ninth home win of the season. Additionally, the win was the Mountaineers' first win over Southern Miss. App State has now beaten every current Sun Belt team.
Top Performers
Not only did Huntley's dunk win the game at the horn, but he also recorded his second consecutive double-double and sixth of the year on Wednesday. His 20 points also led all scorers while his 12 rebounds marked his fourth straight double-digit rebounding game. Beaubrun's winning mindset helped keep the Mountaineers afloat in the second half as he tallied 12 points, his fifth straight double-digit point outing. Despite shooting 3-13 from the field, Tate left his mark on the contest with eight points, a career-high 11 assists and seven rebounds. As of Wednesday's game, he is the only Sun Belt player with multiple double-digit assist games this season.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will take a brief break from conference play to participate in the second leg of the MAC-SBC Challenge on Saturday, taking a trip to Athens, Ohio, to take on the Ohio Bobcats. It will be the first meeting between App State and Ohio since 2014. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men's basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
