CONWAY, S.C. – Despite leading for 31 minutes and by as many as 13 points, the App State men's basketball team fell in the final game of its road trip to the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Saturday. The Chanticleers took the lead late after a Joshua Beadle 3-pointer and held on to a slim lead for the duration of the contest.
App State's (10-8, 3-3 SBC) defense struggled to contain Coastal Carolina (9-9, 2-4 SBC) in the second half, as the Chanticleers scored 41 points in the final frame and shot 64 percent from the field. App State led by six points at halftime, but a second-half outburst by Beadle, who scored 20 points in the final 20 minutes, and a poor offensive effort by the Mountaineers helped Coastal Carolina pull ahead.
Although it fell, App State did shoot the ball well from the free-throw line, burying 13 of its 17 free-throw attempts. App State's 76.5 percent mark from the charity stripe is its highest of the season.
Alonzo Dodd,
Kasen Jennings,
Jalen Tot and
Michael Marcus Jr. each went perfect from the line, combining for an 11-11 clip.
How it Happened
The Chanticleers scored the game's first points on their first offensive possession, but the first of five opening-half 3-pointers by App State fell after Tot pump-faked his defender and stepped in for a top-of-the-key trey.
Luke Wilson extended App State's lead to three with a basket before Marcus Jr. drilled a three from the left wing to make it a six-point game in the opening minutes.
App State's lead eventually grew to nine as Jennings hit the third three of the first five minutes for the Mountaineers. Coastal Carolina cut its deficit down to five by the under-12 media timeout, before trimming App State's lead back to three points after the Mountaineers endured almost a four-minute scoring drought.
Jennings ended the drought by connecting on a fade-away jumper from the free-throw line, which helped kickstart a quick 7-0 App State run. This pushed the Mountaineers ahead by 10 points with 7:42 to play in the half. The lead grew to a game-high 13 after Marcus Jr. connected on a pair of freebies and a 3-pointer, his second of the contest to that point.
The Mountaineers answered a Beadle 3-pointer with a three of their own courtesy of Tot's second 3-pointer of the game. With App State ahead by 13 at the under-four media timeout, Coastal Carolina worked to trim into its deficit, and did so by scoring each of the last seven points before the half. When the halftime horn sounded, the Mountaineers maintained a six-point lead.
Despite shooting just 32 percent from the field in the opening half, the Mountaineers jumped out to an early lead thanks to strong 3-point shooting. Both Marcus Jr. and Tot drilled two threes in the opening half. Jennings led all scorers with nine first-half points. Additionally, the Mountaineers played a clean game in the first half, as they did not commit a turnover in the first 20 minutes.
Another 3-pointer by Tot fell through on the Mountaineers' first possession of the second half, and Dodd crept into the paint for a layup to shoot App State back ahead by 11. The Chanticleers answered the run by App State with a bucket before eventually crawling back to within seven points by the first media timeout of the half after scoring nine of the next 14 points of the game.
A pair of free throws from Dodd ended Coastal Carolina's run and put the Mountaineers back ahead by nine points with 15:41 to play in the game. But Coastal Carolina continued its strong second half by scoring on each of its next three possessions to close the gap down to four before Dodd scored again to make it a six-point game at the under-12 timeout.
A 6-0 Chanticleer run tied the score for the first time since it was 0-0. This forced an App State timeout, which paid off briefly after
Jason Clarke Jr. scored in the paint, but Coastal Carolina took its first lead since the score was 2-0 after AJ Dancler scored in the lane.
Now trailing for the first time since the beginning of the game, Dodd drove hard into the lane and finished a floater through contact to push App State back ahead by one point with 8:56 to play in regulation. The Chanticleers took the lead right back with a 3-pointer, but Jennings answered with a layup to tie the score at 53.
After Beadle connected on two free throws to give the Chanticleers a two-point lead, Dodd drilled a long three from the top of the key to put App State in front yet again by one point. A Wilson free throw gave App State a two-point lead with 5:49 to go, but Coastal Carolina answered with two 3-pointers and a layup to jump ahead by four by the final media timeout.
Out of the short break, Dodd scored to bring App State's deficit back to just two points, but Coastal Carolina answered with another layup. Wilson connected on one of two free throws to pull the Mountaineers within three points with 56 seconds to play, but a Reggie Hill score with 27 seconds delivered the dagger to App State's chances in Conway. The Mountaineers did their best to continue the game, but a defensive rebound by Beadle after a trio of missed 3-pointers ended the game and sealed a win for Coastal Carolina on its home floor.
Top Performers
Dodd's 21 points paced the Mountaineers' offensive attack, especially in the second half, as 18 of his team-high 21 points came in the final 20 minutes. Tot, who made his second consecutive start for the Mountaineers on Saturday, totaled 12 points with three made 3-pointers. His 12 points marked his second straight contest scoring in double figures. Jennings once again finished in double figures with 11 points, while Marcus Jr. fell two points shy of a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will play at home for the first time since Dec. 20 on Thursday, playing host to the James Madison Dukes at the Holmes Center. Thursday's contest will kick off a season-long four-game homestand for App State. Tip off from Boone is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
