Ike Butts scored a career-high 22 points and led Appalachian State to a 77-44 victory over Lees-McRae at the Holmes Center last night.
Butts, a 6-10, 285-pound center who missed all but four preseason practices while recovering from knee surgery, hit 11 of 12 field-goal attempts and grabbed nine rebounds in 21 minutes.
The Mountaineers, who improved to 2-1 and have played three games in five days, outscored the Bobcats 40-22 in interior points.
Kellen Brand added 10 points for Appalachian, and Ryann Abraham had five assists.
Adam McFerran led Lees-McRae with 16 points. Sam Youse, a former North Forsyth player, scored 15 for the Bobcats, who were playing their opener.
The Mountaineers outscored the Bobcats 22-4 over the final minutes of the first half and the opening minutes of the second half.
Youse hit two 3-pointers in the first three minutes as the Bobcats managed to keep even, but Marcus Wright gave the Mountaineers the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 16:50 left in the first half. That basket kicked off a 16-4 run.
Donald Sims' three free throws with 12 minutes left capped the run and gave the Mountaineers a 24-12 lead.
ASU pushed the lead to 43-26 at halftime after a 10-2 run and to 55-28 after a 12-2 run at the start of the second half. The Mountaineers went on to lead by as many as 33.
Appalachian shot 54 percent from the field. Lees-McRae shot just 31 percent, including 2 for 13 from 3-point range, and had 19 turnovers. The Mountaineers outrebounded the Bobcats 44-30.
Appalachian will play at Arkansas on Friday and at No. 20 Louisville on Monday as part of the Hall of Fame Showcase.
LEES-MCRAE (0-1): Haymer 2-8 2-2 6, Kurtz 1-2 0-0 2, Hoots 0-4 0-0 0, Sepokas 0-7 0-0 0, Youse 6-14 0-1 15, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Young 0-3 0-0 0, Helms 0-2 0-0 0, Nikolov 0-0 0-0 0, Hardin 2-4 0-0 5, McFerran 7-10 1-1 16, Scott 0-3 0-0 0, Benjamin 0-0 0-0 0, Henry 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 18-59 3-6 44.
APPALACHIAN (2-1): Hunter 3-4 0-2 6, Butts 11-12 0-0 22, Sims 2-5 3-3 7, Abraham 2-7 0-0 4, Brand 3-3 2-3 10, Healy 0-1 0-0 0, Wright 3-4 0-0 7, Booth 2-5 0-0 5, Archer 0-0 0-0 0, Lail 0-1 2-2 2, Highsmith 1-4 0-0 3, Webb 1-2 0-0 2, Nirenberg 2-5 1-2 5, Williamson 1-4 2-6 4. Totals 31-57 10-18 77.
Halftime--ASU 43-26. 3-Point Goals--Lees-McRae 5-25 (Youse 3-8, McFerran 1-2, Hardin 1-3, Johnson 0-1, Haymer 0-1, Sepokas 0-2, Helms 0-2, Young 0-3, Hoots 0-3), ASU 5-18 (Brand 2-2, Wright 1-1, Highsmith 1-4, Booth 1-4, Hunter 0-1, Sims 0-3, Abraham 0-3). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Lees-McRae 30 (McFerran 6), Appalachian St. 44 (Butts 9). Assists--Lees-McRae 9 (Hoots 4), ASU 21 (Abraham 5). Total Fouls--Lees-McRae 15, ASU 12. A--1,621.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement