ROCK HILL, S.C. — App State Men's Basketball shut down any snooze concerns with an energetic, lightning-fast start to its 6 a.m. season opener.
 
Facing Merrimack in the third game of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon event that began shortly after midnight Monday, the Mountaineers rolled to a 63-49 victory after establishing a 23-3 lead in the first seven minutes.
 
The lead never dipped below 13 points the rest of the way, as App State (1-0) held a 43-21 halftime advantage and still possessed a 20-point lead with seven minutes remaining against an opponent that went 23-11 overall last season while winning the Metro Conference's regular season title with a 17-3 league record.
 
Jaylen Colon hit four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 14 points, and Ben Kopetzki drilled a trio of 3-pointers in a 12-point, five-rebound outing. Operating frequently at the high post, 6-foot-7 Ted Neal had 12 points, five offensive rebounds and four assists.
 
Merrimack's unique 4-1 zone defense can be enough to keep coaches up late at night, but lights-out time Sunday for the Mountaineers was 8:30 p.m. with the 4 a.m. wake-up time and a short 5 a.m. walk from the hotel to the adjacent Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.
 
App State practiced at 6 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to prepare for the Warriors, whose active, extended zone is known for limiting 3-point attempts and forcing turnovers while being susceptible to offensive rebounds. The prep from head coach Dustin Kerns and his staff involved plenty of creative steps — as Kerns met with Merrimack coach Joe Gallo after the game, a paperback edition of Gallo's "More Than The Zone" book was sitting in Kerns' nearby backpack.
 
The Mountaineers committed a turnover on their first possession but didn't have any others during their 23-3 outburst, and they finished the game by scoring 13 points off their 16 offensive rebounds.
 
Neal caught a perimeter pass at the free-throw line and tossed a lob to Chad Moodie for an alley-oop dunk to open the scoring on App State's second possession.
 
Moodie rebounded a missed 3 on the next trip down the floor, drew a foul and made one free throw before missing the second attempt. Neal rebounded that miss, drew a foul and hit two free throws before rebounding a missed 3-pointer on the next possession and kicking the ball out to Eren Banks for an open 3.
 
Just like that, it was 8-0.
 
Consecutive 3s from Colon and Kopetzki pushed the lead to 16-3, and Neal made a high-post jumper before another 3 from Colon increased the margin to 23-3. Merrimack shot 1-for-9 from the field during that dominant stretch.
 
App State went 4-for-8 from long range to open the game and finished 8-for-30 beyond the arc. The Mountaineers shot 53.8 percent from the field during the opening 20 minutes, compared to a 7-for-28 effort from Merrimack, with those percentages flipping after the break.
 
Banks contributed five assists and was one of five Mountaineers with at least five rebounds. Rrezon Elezaj posted six pounds and seven rebounds off the bench, while Da'Mori Lytch added five boards. Dunks from Elezaj and Lytch held off a late Merrimack push to create a single-digit margin.
 
App State is back in action Wednesday night for its home opener against Christendom. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 7 p.m., with the men's game being part of a doubleheader that starts with the App State women facing Montreat at 5 p.m. in the Holmes Center.
 
Season tickets are on sale for all 15 home games, or fans can purchase single-game tickets.
 
Sport-specific giving allows you to directly support App State student-athletes and help provide them the resources they need to be successful. Click here to contribute to the Men's Basketball support fund.
 
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