AJ-T Sports Live From... HOLMES CONVOCATION CENTER - Mountaineers fall 85-83 in Overtime to UNCG

We're back in Boone on Saturday afternoon for ASU's second conference showdown in three games at the Black Hole...this time with the UNCG Spartans.

The Spartans are 1-11, and 0-3 in the SoCon, while ASU is 6-5 and a perfect 3-0 in the SoCon. UNCG has played six of its last seven games on the road. UNCG lost 80-75 at Western Carolina on Thursday evening, while ASU took a 76-52 win over Elon. Today's could potentially be a trap game for the Mountaineers, as they host the Davidson Wildcats on Monday night at Holmes Convocation Center.

We'll be courtside with running updates throughout this afternoon's game

3:45 PM - first media timeout of the game, and the Mountaineers lead 10-6. Ryann Abraham has scored 8 of the 10 ASU points, while Damian Eargle has scored all six of UNCG's points so far.

3:50 PM - 11:33 media timeout and Appalachian is up 14-11 over the Spartans. The Mountaineers are looking inside to Isaac Butts more than in the Elon game where he finished the contest well below his season average in points and rebounds.

UNCG's leading scorer Mikko Koivisto has six points to lead his squad.

4:00 PM - A 5-0 UNCG run has given the Spartans the lead at 21-20 with 7:57 to go before halftime. Eargle has 10 points for the first player in double figures in the game. Appalachian has committed a number of turnovers, the bugaboo that Coach Fancher mentioned as an ongoing issue with his ballclub. ASU will need to clean up its act offensively and take better care of the basketball to pull away in this game.

4:15 PM - The Mountaineers have regained the edge at 28-27 with 3:28 left before halftime. Kellen Brand has 9 points to lead the Mountaineers. UNCG forward DeAngelo Jackson has picked up three fouls in the half, which should help open up the paint for Ike Butts who is scoreless thus far but has four rebounds. Three ASU players, Butts, Abraham, and Bermudez each have a pair of fouls, which has forced Coach Fancher to juggle his lineup on the fly, a factor which may also be contributing to the inconsistent scoring on the offensive end.

4:20 PM - UNCG takes a quick timeout with 35 seconds left before intermission. The Spartans lead by a single point at 31-30 as the first half has to rank as one of ASU's worst of the season to date. THe Spartans have shot the basketball at around 40 percent, while Appalachian has fell off from its 60% clip in the second half of Thursday's contest. At halftime the score stands at 31-30 in favor of UNCG.

4:30 PM - Halftime from the Black Hole. Here are a few stats:

ASU shot 39.3% from the field for the half. Kellen Brand's 11 points led the Mountaineers, while Ryann Abraham added 8 points. UNCG shot 42.9% from the field for the half, with Damian Eargle's 12 points leading the Spartans.
Second half action to come!

The second half has started off very physically as players have went to the floor multiple times and some tempers have flared. The contest is tied at 36 with 17:45 to go.

4:45 PM -The under 16:00 media timeout finds the score 40-38 in favor of UNCG. The contest appears destined to finish down to the wire. A big hustle play on a missed free throw resulted in a Bermudez three-pointer to give ASU back the lead at 41-40, prompting the Spartans to take a 30-second timeout.

4:50 PM - Big man Pete Brown has picked up a fourth foul trying to guard Isaac Butts inside. Add that to four fouls on DeAngelo Jackson, and the Mountaineers should be feeding the ball inside. Abraham drives for a bucket, then a UNCG turnover finds ASU leading 45-44 at the 14:06 mark.

4:55 PM - UNCG runs an alley-oop and get a three-point play out of it as Isaac Butts picks up his fourth foul on the play. Butts goes to the bench, which is a blow to the interior offense and defense of the Black and Gold.

5:00 PM - 11:10 remains in the game and the Spartans lead it by a point at 47-46. The game continues to be back-and-forth as ASU has been a model of inconsistency throughout the half and pretty much the entire game to this point. Appalachian is only 6 of 12 from the free throw line, while UNCG is shooting 45% from the field for the game, 50% in this half.

5:05 PM - Brown fouls out on a drive by Ryann Abraham, while Butts remains on the ASU bench saddled with his own 4 foul baggage. 9:;00 to go, Spartans lead 52-50. A pair of Appalachian three-pointers gives the Mountaineers a three-point edge at 55-52 with 7:46 remaining.

In the way of information, join us back here at the Blog on Monday night as National Player of the Year candidate Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats come to Boone to take on the Mountaineers. The AJ-T will be courtside with full game coverage and photos from the SoCon Showdown!

Appalachian has turned up the defensive pressure off of the media timeout and scored five straight points for its biggest lead of the game at 60-54 with 7:01 left to play. The Spartans take a 30 second timeout to try and stymie the ASU momentum.

Damian Eargle has 21 points tl lead all scorers, while Abraham and Sims are in double-figures scoring with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

5:15 PM - final media timeout of the game with 3:50 remaining. Appalachian leads UNCG 65-60. Josh Hunter leads the Mountaineers with eight rebounds, but the Spartans' 45.7% FG shooting effort has kept them in the ballgame. Butts is back in for the Mountaineers for the stretch run with his four fouls.

A three-pointer by Koivisto following a layup by UNCG ties the game at 65 with 2:43 remaining in the game. Appalachian takes a timeout to talk things over in the huddle. Both teams are in the bonus with fouls. ASU will shoot two on every foul, while UNCG is still in the 1-and-1 situation.

Out of the timeout, a Ryann Abraham '3' from the corner gives the lead back to ASU, but a 3-point answer by Montel Smith of UNCG ties it back up at 68. An Abraham miss for 3 is rebounded by UNCG as the clock ticks under 1:40 to go. Daniel Oliver is fouled by App's Ryann Abraham, and he goes to the line for the one-and-one foul opportunity. Oliver makes one of two from the line for a one-point edge with 1:15 and counting to go.

A feed inside from Wright to Ike Butts results in a layup down low as we go under a minute App leads 70-69. UNCG answers as Ben Stywall converts down low for a bucket and Josh Hunter fouls on the shot. Stywall misses the three-point play opportunity to leave the Spartans up by one at 71-70. A shot inside by Butts misses inside and a battle down low results in the ball going out of bounds to stay with ASU. Coach Fancher takes a timeout with 38.2 seconds left. UNCG leads 71-70.

5:22 PM - ASU 's pass inside to Butts is stolen by Eargle and the Spartans start playing Keep Away. Donald Sims runs down Koivisto and fouls him. Koivisto goes to the line for two free throws with 23.1 seconds to go. The Spartan from Finland makes his first free throw to give UNCG a 72-70 lead, then hits the second shot to push the lead to 73-70. App will still have a shot to tie the game if they wish to try for the three-point shot with this key possession.

AT THE HORN, Donald Sims throws up a desparation three-point basket off balance, hits the ground, and THE SHOT FALLS TO TIE THE GAME AT 73-73!!! The Holmes Center erupts as the game is sent to OT! The officials confer and rule the shot was GOOD! Sims had taken the first shot which barely drew front iron. Butts battled to get the ball then kicked it back out to Sims who drained the unbelievable shot to tie it up and send the game to OVERTIME! Five more minutes of free basketball from the Black Hole.

5:27 PM - Hunter scores down low for the first basket of overtime, and Koivisto answers with a three-pointer to put UNCG up 76-75.

UNCG holds on defense and Koivisto is fouled on the offensive end for free throws. The junior hits both free throws to give the Spartans the 78-75 lead at the 3:37 mark of OT.

Ike Butts scores down low to cut the deficit to 78-77 UNCG leading. The teams trade possessions and Hunter is fouled on the inside. Josh hits the first free throw to tie it up again at 78, then hits the second to give ASU the lead back at 79-78 with 2:30 and counting to go.

Koivisto's three-pointer goes begging and Hunter rebounds. ASU can't convert on the offensive end and Stywall scores down low for the Spartans to give the lead back to UNCG at 80-79 at the 1:40 mark. Ike Butts calls for the ball down low, gets it, and scores on the block, giving the Mountaineers the lead at 81-80. Time out is called for by ASU after the make. 1:36 remains in the overtime as ASU looks to stay unbeaten in the SoCon.

On a side note, I believe this blogger called this game a possible 'trap game' (see paragraph 2 above). Not sure if App overlooked UNCG or if the Spartans really pulled everything together today, but this one has been a battle throughout!

Koivisto for three, was rebounded and scored by Eargle, putting UNCG up 82-81 with under a minute to go. App needs a basket to tie it up or a three to take the lead.

5:35 PM -- Bermudez takes a three pointer that hits back iron. The Spartans grab the rebound and Eargle is fouled with 26.5 seconds left. Eargle hits the first foul shot to make the score 83-81 Spartans. His second shot rattles, hits back and front rim, then falls in to make the score 84-81. Time out on the floor. Appalachian trails 84-81. They will have 26.5 seconds to either take a quick two and foul, or set up a final three-point shot to try to send the game into a second extra session.

Abraham goes up for a shot and on the rebound attempt Kellen Brand falls awkwardly, bringing the crowd to a hush. Brand is favoring his right leg an dis in obvious pain under the ASU goal.

14.3 seconds remain in the game as the trainers attend to Brand, who has scored 11 points. He is helped off the court by a pair of the training staff as Abraham goes to the line to shoot two free throws. Abraham drains the first shot, cutting it to 84-82, and hits the second to cut the lead to one.

ASU gets a foul on Stywall who has a pair of pressure free throws at the :09 mark. The junior misses the first free throw and hits the second for a two-point lead. Time out called by UNCG to set up its defense with an 85-83 lead.

A shot put up by Wright falls after a drive by the Mountaineers into the lane. The three-pointer is good, but it is after the final horn, giving the Spartans the 85-83 overtime win on the road for their second win of the season. A tough way for the Apps to lose this one.

6:00 PM - The Spartans were 317th in the nation in turnovers per game, but the team committed only 10 turnovers in the game. Appalachian was led by four players in double-figures. Ryann Abraham scored 21 to lead the team, with 15 from Donald Sims, and 11 each from Isaac Butts and Kellen Brand. Freshman Damian Eargle led UNCG with 25 points in the win, the most points since Scott Hartsell scored 25 in an overtime game against Chicago State back in 1993. Ben Stywall scored 19 with 16 by Mikko Koivisto.

ASU falls to 6-6 and 3-1 in SoCon play heading to Monday's showdown with Davidson. Kellen Brand's diagnosis following the game has been labelled as a strained foot and is listed as day-to-day.

"We have to score with them," Coach Houston Fancher said postgame in reference to Davidson. "We have to make sure to put points on the board. I think our offense has to be as efficient as its been all year long because Davidson doesn't give you room to breathe when you make mistakes."

We'll be back on the Blog on Monday night for what shapes up to be a great matchup with the Wildcats at the Black Hole.

Thanks again to Josh Bare for his help with photography for this afternoon's contest. We'll have more photos posted later this evening.

AJ-T Sports Live From... HOLMES CONVOCATION CENTER

We're LIVE from Holmes Convocation Center on a cold icy night for Appalachian State basketball's conference home opener against the Phoenix of Elon University.

The Mountaineers are an even 5-5 on the year and 2-0 in conference. The Phoenix are 4-6, with a 1-1 mark within the Southern Conference. The matchup is also a North Division showdown. Appalachian is hoping to bounce back after a blowout loss at Texas last Friday night.

Stay tuned as we'll provide updates regularly from tonight's contest.

7:10 PM - first media timeout of the half, Appalachian lead it by a 9-6 score. The Mountaineers have missed a couple of shots early on, as Ryann Abraham has tallied 7 of Appalachian's nine points in the first four minutes plus.

7:20 PM - 11:26 remains in the half and the Mountaineers lead 13-11. Elon leading scorer Brett James has 4 of the 11 for the Phoenix, while Abraham has 9 of App's 13. A sloppy game being played by the Mountaineers on both ends of the floor, primarily on the offensive end, as the team has been inconsistent in setting up its offenses. We'll see if that cleans up as the game moves on.

7:30 PM - Appalachian has built a 24-17 lead with 6:28 to go in the half. The two teams combined for a paltry 11 of 27 shooting percentage, but Appalachian has indeed picked up the shooting accuracy. Josh Hunter has four points for ASU, Abraham leads ASU with 11, and Jeremi Booth added a triple for the Mountaineers.

7:35 PM - 3:21 to go before halftime. Appalachian holds a seven-point lead at 31-24. Ola Atoyebi has headed up for six points to lead Elon, while Eduardo Bermudez has added four points for ASU. On a side note, former UNC standout Wes Miller serves as an assistant coach in his first season at Elon. (Obligatory Tar Heel alum shout out).

7:40 PM - Elon takes a 30-second timeout after an exchange that saw Andre Williamson stuff an Elon shot on defense and Kellen Brand drain a three-pointer on the other end. App's lead is at double-figures for the first time tonight at 35-25 with 1:03 left before halftime.

7:45 PM - Halftime at the Black Hole, and the Mountaineers go into the locker room with a lead at 38-27. Ryann Abraham drained a three-pointer from about 25 feet out as the half expired. After a sluggish first part of the half, ASU awakened to put together a good run to close the half. Halftime stats and more to come...

8:00 PM - Ryann Abraham leads the Mountaineers with 14 first half points, while Ike Butts has been held to only a pair of first half rebounds and four points, quite a bit off his near-double-double average. Ola Atoyebi leads Elon with 6 points, with six also from Josh Bonney. Appalachian shot 52 percent in the first half from the field, and was 5 of 9 from three-point range. Elon shot only 44 percent in the half, and was only 3 of 8 from the free throw line. Mountaineers lead by 11 as the second half begins!

8:10 PM - With 15:37 remaining in the game the Mountaineers have stretched its lead to 49-34. a three-pointer by Donald Sims entices Elon head coach Ernie Nestor to take a time out. The Mountaineers have improved on the glass and have hustled to get itself a number of offensive rebounds in the first four minutes of this second half.

8:17 PM - A three-pointer, followed by a defensive block that sparked the fast break leading to another three ball from Bermudez stakes the Mountaineers to its biggest lead of the night, 54-34 with 13:16 left on the clock. Elon takes another timeout to stem the momentum.

8:20 PM - We hit the under 12 minute media timeout, and ASU leads it 56-37 over Elon. Kellen Brand has joined Ryann Abraham in double-figures scoring with 11 points. Brand also leads the team with six rebounds for the game. T.J. Douglas has nine points and four different Elon players are tied with six points apiece to lead the Phoenix.

8:30 PM - 7:58 to go and the Mountaineers maintain a 19-point lead at 61-42. Elon has shown nothing to indicate that they can mount a significant comeback as the Mountaineers seem to find another gear anytime they need to do so. Eduardo Bermudez has added to the double-figures parade with 13 points for Appalachian to go with Brand's 14 and Abraham's 14 points. The guards have had their way with the Phoenix thus far this evening.

8:38 PM - After a Kellen Brand three-pointer, Coach Nestor takes a timeout with 3:13 left to play. ASU has its biggest lead of the night (again...) at 71-48. Elon appears set to lose its third in a row and fall to 4-7, while Appalachian is set to move to 3-0 in conference and 6-5 overall.

8:45 PM - ASU leads 74-50 and the reserves are in for the Mountaineers! Kellen brand finishes with 17 points in this one to lead all scorers. Abraham finishes with 14 with 13 from Bermudez. Sims, Booth, and Hunter each end with seven points. T.J. Douglas finishes as the only Phoenix player with double figures, finishing with 10 points.

Final Score from The Black Hole: ASU 76, Elon 52. ASU returns to action with a 3:30 pm tip time on Saturday afternoon against UNC-Greensboro. Thanks for reading the Blog!

Girls Victorious, Boys Fall Short Against Hendersonville

It was an up and down kind of day for the Avery basketball teams on Monday night at Viking Gymnasium.

The junior varsity teams split a pair of matchups with the visiting Hendersonville Bearcats. The girls opened the night with a one-sided 77-21 thrashing of the Lady Bearcats. Avery's press defense exposed Hendersonville's weak dribbling backcourt, snatching up a total of 28 steals in the win.

Avery scored the first 16 points of the game and led 22-4 after one quarter and surrendered only a total of four made field goals in the entire half. Mercedes Bentley tallied 12 points in the first half, with nine points from Brooke Buchanan as the Vikings built an astounding 42-11 halftime lead.

It was a case of more of the same in the third quarter as the Big Red continued to dominate, leading 62-16 en route to the 56-point win.

A total of three Avery players reached double figures: Bentley led all scorers with 22 points in addition to seven assists and two steals. Buchanan scored 13 with six rebounds and three steals, and Logan Johnson scored ten points. Savannah Dellinger had six points and six assists, four rebounds and three steals for the Lady Vikings, with six points, seven rebounds, five assists, and five steals by Mary Chesnut Smith.

"I was proud of every one of the girls tonight," Coach Pat Daniels said after the win. "We ran hard yesterday after the break, and the girls were ready to play ball. We had a season-high in assists and the girls did a great job of sharing the basketball."

The junior varsity boys trailed 16-10 to Hendersonville after one quarter and 32-26 at halftime. The Bearcats built the lead to double figures at 49-38 after three periods before the Vikings roared back to cut the deficit to a single point in the waning minutes at 55-54 and again at 57-56. Hendersonville converted on a pair of possessions down the stretch and held Avery to a single point over the final 1:36 of play to secure a 61-56 victory.

Spencer Blackburn scored 16 points to lead Avery, with 12 points each from Taylor Potter and Alex Villanueva.

In varsity action the Avery Lady Vikings scored the first six points of the game and led by five at 10-5 after one period. The team's transition game found its groove in the second quarter as the guard tandem of Allison Vance and Samantha Shook combined for ten points in the quarter. Katie Ellis came off the bench and scored nine first half points to help Avery to a 31-18 lead going into intermission.

A 21-4 scoring run over the course of the third quarter put the contest out of reach as Avery's quick hands wreaked havoc on the helpless Bearcats. The Big Red rode the strength of seven players scoring in the quarter to amass a 52-22 lead after three periods and cruised to the easy 74-31 win.

Ellis paced the Lady Vikings with a double-double, scoring 17 points and hauling down 11 rebounds in addition to four blocks. Vance scored 14 points with eight helpers and five steals. Eudy rounded out the double-figure scorers with ten points and five steals. Megan Tennant and Samantha Shook each scored nine points in the triumph.

The win helped Avery remain undefeated and in a share for first place in conference play at 2-0, and improved to 8-4 overall.

In the evening's night cap the Vikings hoped to put together its first winning streak of the season following a thrashing of Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy, but it was the visiting Bearcats that ran wild and struck early and often.

Hendersonville built a 24-8 lead behind a full-court pressing defense that consistently harassed any Viking player attempting to bring the basketball upcourt. The Bearcats upped the offensive ante in teh second quarter, turning defense into offense to the tune of a 27-point second quarter burst. Avery scored nearly double the points it tallied in the first quarter, as Kody Hughes led Avery with all seven of his points for the game during the stanza. Fifteen second quarter points only dug a deeper hole for the Vikings to climb from, as Hendersonville led 51-23 at halftime.

The third quarter proved more of the same, as Hendersonville turned the basketball game into a track meet with 27 additional points in the quarter to amass a 78-31 lead after three quarters and eventually won by the final score of 96-45.

Senior Jared Ward was the only Avery player in double-figures, scoring 14 points, with seven points from Hughes. No other Viking scored more than four points for the game. Hendersonville registered five double-figure scorers, led by 19 points from Keyvon Young. The win improved the Bearcats to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in Western Highlands play, while Avery drops to 2-10 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

With the postponement of Wednesday's games at Ashe County, Avery will next take the floor on Friday afternoon and evening in Columbus for another 1A conference matchup at Polk County.

Avery basketball POSTPONED FOR TONIGHT

Tonight's Basketball games scheduled at Ashe County have been POSTPONED. A make-up date has not been rescheduled.

Avery's next scheduled games will take place on Friday afternoon in Columbus against Polk County.

Vikings Sweep Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy

Avery ventured back into regular season play on Friday night with a rematch in Rutherford County against Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. The game was all-Lady Vikings from the opening tip as Avery routed the Lady Gryphons 78-30.

Over the first eight minutes Avery blitzed the Lady Gryphons with its full-court offense and pressing defense. Allison Vance picked up where she left off from the Christmas tournament by scoring nine first-quarter points, while teammate Katelynn Eudy scored seven points. Avery scored 26 points in the opening stanza and held TJCA to a single field goal and three foul shots to take a 21-point lead after one quarter.

The Avery defense again held TJCA to a lone field goal made in the second stanza, but surrendered four made free throws before halftime. In the meantime, the Big Red offense scorched the nets for 19 points, eight of which came from returning guard Hayley Pyatte, to stake the Lady Vikings to a 45-11 halftime lead.

Avery’s second half was every bit as impressive as the first, as the team allowed only six points to TJCA in the third quarter while scoring 17 points in the frame to lead 62-17 and eventually cruised to the team’s seventh win of the season.

Vance scored 17 points to lead five Lady Vikings in double-figures. Samantha Shook scored 12, with 11 each from Katie Ellis and Katelynn Eudy and ten from Hayley Pyatte.

Avery dominated most every statistical category as the squad hauled in a startling 51 rebounds as a team and had 31 steals in the win.

Following last week's Christmas tournament in Cherryville, Avery head basketball coach Bo Manis told his team that they needed to control the flow of the game and that running the offense would create scoring opportunities.

On Friday evening those opportunities came in bunches as the Avery squad appeared to put many of the coach’s principles into practice in a 76-29 throttling of Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro.

Avery opened the game by scoring the first 14 points before Thomas Jefferson finally got on the scoreboard. Avery then closed out the quarter with a 10-2 run to lead 24-4 after the first quarter.

The Gryphons played a better game in the second period as Avery used a number of its reserves for significant minutes. A 7-2 TJCA run cut the lead to 15 points, but Avery’s balanced scoring attack late in the half built its advantage back to 43-20 at halftime.

Avery removed all doubt on who would be victorious with a 13-0 run to open the third period, giving the Big Red a 56-20 cushion. The defense was stifling as the Vikings held TJCA scoreless for over seven minutes. A basket by TJCA’s Jonathan Bess with 40 seconds remaining in the quarter finally snapped the drought, but it was the only scoring for the Gryphons as Avery led 61-22 after three stanzas.

A number of reserves saw action in the final eight minutes for both teams, but the Avery offense continued to roll. Keith McKinney scored all eight points of his points off the bench in the quarter as the Vikings earned its second win of the year and a season sweep over its future Western Highlands Conference foe.

Joey Potter paced the Vikings with 13 points, with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and a pair of steals from Dustin Clarke. Kody Hughes added nine points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Luke Pittman added eight points, seven rebounds and three assists. Colton Blackburn added seven points, seven rebounds, and five steals.

An already busy schedule remains packed this week for the Lady Vikings. Avery hosts Hendersonville early in the week, followed by a non-conference game Wednesday in Jefferson against Ashe County and another 1A conference showdown at Polk County this Friday.