BOONE
Appalachian State was in the process of hanging on for a victory in its Southern Conference opener last night, when its grip slipped.
The Mountaineers blew a nine-point lead, had two of its worst possessions in the final 20 seconds and lost 85-82 to Furman.
The loss, to a team that went 6-24 last season, was the first for the Mountaineers in five home games this season and was a setback after impressive wins over Morgan State and Winthrop a few days earlier.
"Against Morgan State everything went our way the last three minutes," Coach Buzz Peterson of the Mountaineers said. "The last three minutes tonight everything went totally opposite."
Still, the Mountaineers, who used a solid performance on the offensive boards to build a nine-point lead with nine minutes left, had a chance to hang on but scored just two points in the final 2:20.
Furman took its first lead since late in the first half on a jump shot with 32 seconds left by Jordan Miller, who scored a game-high 26 points.
The Mountaineers (4-4) then committed an unforced turnover with 16 seconds left when Josh Hunter misread a play and threw the ball out of bounds.
"We just threw it away," Peterson said. "There's no explanation for it."
Hunter said that he thought teammate Ryann Abraham was going to pop off a screen, but no one was there.
"I just pretty much just forgot the play a little bit," said Hunter, who realized his mistake as soon as he released the pass. "That's a terrible feeling. Especially as a senior."
Justin Dehm was sent to the free-throw line and stretched the Paladins' lead to three points, and the Mountaineers had a final chance to tie with seven seconds left.
But Abraham lost the handle on the ball nearing the top of the key. It bounced off teammate Nathan Healy, who was supposed to set a screen. Jeremi Booth picked up the loose ball, but his desperation shot from at least 30 feet was well short at the buzzer.
"I guess Healy was in the way when Ryann was on his butt (trailing) and the ball just hit off his foot." Booth said.
Peterson said it was a disappointing loss.
For the Paladins, it was a big win – coming on the road in a conference opener. The Paladins (5-1) are just one win shy of last season's total.
"It's a real big win," said Miller, a junior guard who his 11 of 14 field-goal attempts including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. "We're not too fond of App State first off, and then to win this first conference game is just a great feeling."
Ike Butts, the Mountaineers' center, was in foul trouble for much of the night, which hampered his team's intended game plan of pounding the ball inside. And the Paladins shot 52 percent from the field.
"Our big man got in foul trouble, and we have to play better defense," said Booth, who led the Mountaineers with 18 points.
Peterson said: "A couple of us didn't come ready to play tonight and it's hard to get it going when our minds aren't there. But I've got to give Furman credit. They got shots in transition, they hit the 3. We had no answer for them the second half on defense."
tbowman@wsjournal.com.
727-7320
FURMAN: Sebirumbi 0-0 1-2 1, Saaka 4-13 4-6 13, Co.Reddick 4-6 6-8 14, Dehm 3-6 4-4 12, Miller 11-14 0-0 26, States 1-3 0-0 3, Evans 4-6 1-2 10, Barnes 1-6 2-2 4, Toler 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-56 18-24 85.
APPALACHIAN STATE: Williamson 2-5 0-0 4, Butts 0-2 0-0 0, Sims 6-13 2-2 17, Booth 6-11 4-7 18, Brand 5-10 4-5 14, Abraham 4-8 2-2 12, Healy 3-6 2-2 8, Wright 1-2 0-0 2, Hunter 2-3 3-7 7, Webb 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-60 17-25 82.
Halftime--Appalachian State 35-34. 3-Point Goals--Furman 9-14 (Miller 4-5, Dehm 2-3, States 1-1, Saaka 1-1, Evans 1-3, Barnes 0-1), Appalachian State 7-17 (Sims 3-8, Abraham 2-2, Booth 2-5, Healy 0-1, Brand 0-1). Fouled Out--Butts, Sebirumbi, Williamson. Rebounds--Furman 29 (Co.Reddick 7), Appalachian State 38 (Hunter 10). Assists--Furman 11 (Evans 4), Appalachian State 12 (Abraham 4). Total Fouls--Furman 23, Appalachian State 19. A--1,851.
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