ASU outlasts UNCG 75-69

Appalachian State found a way to overcome UNC Greensboro in the late stages last night, and found itself in first place as a result.

The Mountaineers toppled UNCG 75-69 in front of a crowd of 4,198 at the Greensboro Coliseum and, coupled with Western Carolina's loss to Elon last night, took a half-game lead in the Southern Conference's North Division.

ASU (14-10, 8-4 SoCon) won on the road for the second straight time, after a victory Saturday against Western Carolina.

"This was just as big as Western Carolina," said Josh Hunter, a senior post player for the Mountaineers who continued a recent string of solid numbers with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Kellen Brand, a fellow senior who, along with Donald Sims, led the Mountaineers with 16 points, said: "The last time we had a chance for first place we lost. We just did a great job finishing this ballgame."

UNCG (5-19, 4-9) entered ranking last in the SoCon in field-goal percentage this season, but was shooting at a 47-percent clip with seven minutes to play. The Spartans led 60-58 at that point, but went 0 for 8 from the field during the next 6:25.

"Our starting five said in the huddle before the game that the tougher team was going to win," Brand said. "I think that's what the game basically came down to. Somebody had to step it up on defense and I think we did."

The Mountaineers took the lead for good with a 7-0 run and, after struggling to score themselves, got a key basket with 2:06 left when center Ike Butts tapped in a shot by Sims that bounced off the rim.

That gave the Mountaineers some cushion at 67-62, and they sealed the victory at the free-throw line.

"I thought Ike's follow up when Donald missed it was a key bucket for us," Coach Buzz Peterson of the Mountaineers said. "You don't usually see him go to the boards like that very much, it's usually Hunter getting offensive boards, but it was nice seeing Ike get that tap-in.

"We have been so inconsistent. We'd win a game like we did Saturday and then just not play well and have a letdown. But I was very pleased to see the guys pull this out tonight."

Peterson was pleased with "consistent inside play again," as well as a 22-of-26 performance from the free-throw line.

"We have a drill called free-throw conditioning," Peterson said. "If they don't shoot 70 percent or better, they know they're running."

Sims was 6 of 6 from the free-throw line, improving his nation-leading accuracy rate to 116 of 122 (95.1 percent).

Coach Mike Dement of UNCG was pleased with his team's effort on Sims, who wound up under his season scoring average and 4 of 13 from the field.

"He's having a great year, and we did about as good as we could do," Dement said. "His numbers nationally, and in the league -- they're Curry-like numbers. They're good. They're really good. The things that he's doing for his team is reminiscent of what Stephen did for Davidson."

Ben Stywall, the Spartans' top scorer, was 0 for 6 from the field. It was the second time in the last 88 games that Stywall didn't make a field goal.

"They did a nice job on Ben," Dement said.

Kyle Randall led the Spartans with 18 points. Mikko Koivisto added 16, and Stywall had 12 rebounds.

Hunter and Butts, the Mountaineers' starting post players, combined for 18 points and 18 rebounds.

tbowman@wsjournal.com


727-7320

ASU Min FG FT OR-T A PF Pts

Hunter 27 4-6 2-4 6-11 0 2 10

Butts 33 4-7 0-0 3-7 0 3 8

Sims 37 4-13 6-6 0-4 1 0 16

Booth 22 3-8 0-0 0-2 2 0 8

Brand 28 4-6 6-6 1-2 1 5 16

Abraham 15 0-3 3-4 0-1 0 3 3

Healy 3 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 1 0

Wright 17 3-5 0-1 1-3 2 3 7

Highsmith 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Williamson 16 1-1 5-5 0-0 1 4 7

Totals 200 23-49 22-26 12-35 7 21 75

Percentages: FG .469, FT .846. 3-Point Goals: 7-18, .389 (Brand 2-4, Booth 2-4, Sims 2-6, Wright 1-2, Abraham 0-2). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 1 (Butts). Turnovers: 13 (Brand 3, Sims 2, Hunter 2, Wright 2, Williamson, Healy, Booth, Butts). Steals: 4 (Abraham, Williamson, Hunter, Sims). Technical Fouls: None.

UNCG Min FG FT OR-T A PF Pts

Stywall 39 0-6 7-9 3-12 1 2 7

Brown 15 2-5 0-0 2-2 0 2 4

Koivisto 37 5-16 3-4 0-2 1 3 16

Randall 32 7-11 3-5 2-3 2 2 18

Toney 26 2-7 2-2 0-1 0 2 8

VanDussen 14 1-1 2-2 0-0 1 3 4

Smith 6 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 4 0

Bone 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0

Evans 6 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 1 2

Cole 13 1-3 1-2 1-1 0 1 4

Jackson 10 3-3 0-0 1-1 0 1 6

Totals 200 22-54 18-24 10-25 5 22 69

Percentages: FG .407, FT .750. 3-Point Goals: 7-21, .333 (Koivisto 3-13, Toney 2-6, Randall 1-1, Cole 1-1). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 1 (Brown). Turnovers: 7 (Randall 3, Stywall 2, Evans, Cole). Steals: 5 (Koivisto, Stywall, Randall, VanDussen, Jackson). Tech Fouls: None.

Appalachian 33 42 -- 75


UNC Greensboro 30 39 -- 69

A--4,198.