ASU starts SoCon schedule against Furman

By: By Tommy Bowman | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: December 03, 2009

Appalachian State, coming off two strong showings in nonconference games, will try to parlay that into a successful Southern Conference opener when it plays Furman tonight in Boone.

The Mountaineers charged from behind Saturday to beat a highly regarded Morgan State team and followed with a blowout of Winthrop on Monday to improve to 4-0 at home.

Coach Buzz Peterson said he likes what he's seeing.

"We're getting some good inside play, I think we are understanding and executing our offense and defense better, and I'm pleased with our toughness," Peterson said. "I feel like the comeback at Arkansas (from 20 points down to force overtime) helped us win that Morgan State game. That gave us a sense of we can always come back to beat somebody, and that helped us do it."

The Mountaineers' starting lineup has been tweaked a bit the past week. Jeremi Booth, a 6-5 guard, has moved into a starting spot and the emergence of Andre Williamson, a 6-7 sophomore, has helped offset the absence of forward Josh Hunter, who is expected to play tonight after being sidelined with a sprained ankle.

Guard Donald Sims leads the Mountaineers in scoring (15.7 ppg) and has made 29 of 30 free throws. Ike Butts, a 6-10, 285-pound center, leads the SoCon in rebounding (8.9 rpg).

Booth has averaged 15.3 points the past three games. His 3-pointer against Morgan State sent that game into overtime, and he scored his team's first 13 points against Winthrop on the way to a 20-point performance.

"He's playing with a lot of confidence," Peterson said. "He has done some good things in practice, we just need something good to happen to him in a ballgame so the timing is great.

"Then here comes Andre Williamson, probably shooting 30 percent from the free-throw line, and he goes 9 for 10 from the line and hits the free throw we need to win the (Morgan State) game. It's nice to have that 6-7 long athlete in there to block shots and do some things. He's played well and complements Ike very well."

Peterson said that his team is still working to limit turnovers. The Mountaineers are averaging 17.3 a game.

"We've got to get better at that," he said. "We've had three games where we've had turnovers on 30 percent of our possessions.

"That total needs to be half of that. We've had games where we've had 12 percent or 15 percent loss of ball, but to have 30 is way too much."

Furman, which was 6-24 last season, is 4-1. The Paladins snapped a 20-game road losing streak Friday with a 72-66 win over UNC Asheville.

Amu Saaka, a 6-6 junior who transferred from South Florida, leads the Paladins with 16.6 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. Guard Jordan Miller is averaging 16 points heading into the only regular-season meeting between Furman and ASU.

"They've gotten better," Peterson said. "The transfer from South Florida is playing really well. He's shooting lights out. They're very good at the free-throw line, and they've added some big kids inside.

"They're coming in here with confidence. We've got to be ready for them. This is an extremely important ballgame."

tbowman@wsjournal.com.

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