Courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information
HUNTINGTON, W. Va - Isaac Butts hauled in a season-high 16 rebounds and Donald Sims connected on four three-pointers and all eight free throw attempts to lead Appalachian State University men’s basketball past Marshall in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament quarterfinal on Monday night.
Sims scored 30 points on 9-of-23 shooting and sank several late free throws to help the Mountaineers (24-12) to an 80-72 victory over the top-seeded Thundering Herd. The junior guard added six rebounds and three assists in the contest.
Butts’ 16 boards were just one portion of ASU’s season-best 47, as the Apps held Marshall (24-10) to just 28 in the game. Jeremi Booth and Josh Hunter also grabbed six rebounds each in the victory.
Though Appalachian extended its lead to as many as 19 points midway through the second half, it was a different story before the intermission. The Mountaineers sank just two of their first 10 attempts from the field and fell behind by seven points early on in the contest.
The Apps bounced back from the rough shooting start to sink 13-of-23 to close out the half at 45.5 percent, including 7-of-12 from downtown.
The run continued into the second half as ASU scored 11 of the first 14 points after the break. From there, the margin remained in double figures until a nine-point Herd run cut the score to 67-58 with 5:15 on the clock. The score was never any closer than eight points down the stretch as the Apps sank 11-of-12 free throws in the game’s final four minutes.
ASU’s big men battled foul trouble throughout the contest, as four post players accounted for seven of the team’s eight first-half infractions, and 13-of-20 in the game.
Kellen Brand reached double-figure points with 15 in the game on 5-of-9 shooting while Butts and Booth added nine each.
The Apps shot 43.5 percent in the game and sank 9-of-19 treys. The squad was proficient from the charity stripe as well, sinking 17-of-20 free throws.
Marshall shot 47.4 percent from the floor but 36.8 from beyond the arc. Tyler Wilkerson led MU with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Dago Pena hauled in six boards.
The Mountaineers return home to host the winner of tonight’s Northern Colorado-Pacific game in the tournament semifinal on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
