BOONE
Buzz Peterson, who began his second term as coach at Appalachian State, talked about first impressions before last night's season-opening game.
"I told my players this is going to be the first impression for a lot of people, and that we've got to make sure we win this ballgame for them," Peterson said.
For the most part, Peterson's Mountaineers did impress in a 79-68 victory over UNC Wilmington.
They built a 19-point lead, struggled toward the end but hung on and won.
"Last year if we were in that position we would have lost the game," point guard Donald Sims said.
In fact, the Mountaineers were and did.
They led the Seahawks by 17 with six minutes left in last season's opener, before losing in overtime.
The Mountaineers jumped to a 28-16 lead last night, looking to the interior for points and finding them.
Twelve of their first 16 points came inside the paint.
"They took it to us in the first 16 or 17 minutes of the game," Coach Benny Moss of the Seahawks said.
"They did what they wanted, when they wanted and how they wanted."
Peterson said: "We're trying to stress inside touches, and not only with feeds to our post guys but also with our dribble penetration.
"We shot way too many 3s in our exhibition game. I don't like that.
"I like the high-percentage shots. I want to drive it.
"It's one of Kellen Brand's strengths and Ryann Abraham's not bad at it, so we tried to spread it out and drive as much as we could."
The Mountaineers attempted six 3-point shots.
The Seahawks missed their first eight, which factored in 32-percent shooting in the first half.
Brand, who hit 14 of 14 free-throw attempts, led the Mountaineers with 20 points.
Sims scored 18, and big man Ike Butts totaled 12 points and seven rebounds after four preseason practices while recovering from knee surgery.
The Seahawks trailed 58-39 at one point, but made adjustments down the stretch and shut off the Mountaineers' inside pipeline.
The Mountaineers shot 38 percent in the second half, compared to 61 in the first half.
"We tried to hold on there toward the end, and I probably made a mistake being too conservative," Peterson said.
John Fields, who scored 21 points in his first game at UNCW after transferring from East Carolina, helped the Seahawks close to 72-68 with 32 seconds left.
Then the Mountaineers sealed the victory at the free-throw line.
The Mountaineers made 33 of 42 of their free throws.
"I want us to make more free throws than our opponents attempt," said Peterson, whose team hit 14 of their first 15 attempts. "Going to the free-throw line is a key for us. This team can shoot free throws."
The Mountaineers will play at East Tennessee State at 4 p.m. today as part of a Hall of Fame Showcase.
It is a round-robin tournament that will continue for the Mountaineers later this month with games against Arkansas, Louisville and Morgan State.
UNC WILMINGTON -- Lacy 3-7 0-0 6, Ohuaregbe 0-2 1-2 1, Fields 9-14 3-6 21, Wolf 3-9 5-6 11, Grant 1-2 2-2 5, Downey 1-5 2-3 4, Rendleman 2-4 0-0 4, Jeralds 1-3 0-0 2, Wilson 1-1 0-0 2, Sheets 0-0 0-0 0, Basnight 0-1 0-0 0, Felder 2-9 6-6 12, Deloach 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-58 19-25 68.
APPALACHIAN -- Hunter 2-4 0-2 4, Butts 5-7 2-2 12, Sims 4-9 9-10 18, Wright 2-4 1-1 5, Brand 3-7 14-14 20, Abraham 2-3 4-6 9, Healy 1-1 1-3 3, Booth 2-2 0-0 4, Highsmith 0-0 0-0 0, Webb 1-2 0-0 2, Williamson 0-5 2-4 2. Totals 22-44 33-42 79.
Halftime--Appalachian St. 44-31. 3-Point Goals--N.C.-Wilmington 3-16 (Felder 2-5, Grant 1-2, Jeralds 0-1, Lacy 0-1, Downey 0-3, Wolf 0-4), Appalachian St. 2-6 (Abraham 1-1, Sims 1-3, Wright 0-1, Webb 0-1). Fouled Out--Butts, Grant. Rebounds--N.C.-Wilmington 31 (Fields 7), Appalachian St. 33 (Butts 7). Assists--N.C.-Wilmington 14 (Felder 5), Appalachian St. 11 (Abraham 4). Total Fouls--N.C.-Wilmington 30, Appalachian St. 24. Technicals--Fields, Ohuaregbe, Butts. A--2,544. . A--2,544.
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