UPDATE #13: UNC gave up a good portion of its lead, but has enough to defeat ASU by the final score of 97-82. Omar Carter led ASU with 20 points, with 15 points from Mike Neal and 11 each from Tab Hamilton and Andre Williamson. Zeller's 31 points paces the Tar Heels
.
Thanks for following along, and catch a full recap in next week's edition of The AJT.
Update #12: UNC holds a 15-point lead on ASU with 3:43 to play at 87-72. Coach Williams pulled his starters with 4:00 left, but the Mountaineers continue to battle, largely behind Mike Neal and Nathan Healy who has sparked the Black and Gold on both ends of the floor.
Update #11: Zeller leaves the game at the 8:00 mark with 31 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, ASU has cut into the UNC lead, trailing 79-62 with 6:41 to play in the game. Mike Neal has come alive with eight points to help pace the Mountaineers.
UPDATE #10: UNC leads 73-46 with 11:34 to play. Okum has picked up a fifth foul just prior to the media timeout, leaving the Apps further depleted inside.
UPDATE #9: UNC has built a 69-44 lead and ASU coach Jason Capel takes another timeout to try to stem the tide. Zeller has been a beast inside with eight points in the half and 28 for the game.
UPDATE #8: ASU trails 61-41 at the first media timeout of the second half.
Update #7: With 16:39 to play, the Heels have opened up a 56-37 advantage. Both Ike Butts and Brian Okum have four personal fouls against the trees in the Carolina post. ASU takes a timeout to try to halt momentum.
UPDATE #6: At halftime, ASU trails Carolina 48-32. Zeller scores on a bucket at the buzzer to give the Heels a 16-point edge. a 13-2 UNC run over the final 3:50 closes the half to push the margin after ASU cut the lead to five points.
Omar Carter has carried the Mountaineers with 16 points, with six points from Rodney Milum. Tyler Zeller has 20 points to lead the way for Carolina, with seven points and six rebounds from John Henson. and six points from Dexter Strickland.
Second half action to come!
UPDATE #5: ASU has cut the lead to 35-30 with 3:50 to play before halftime. Carter and Milum have both heated up from the perimeter, but the rebounding of Carolina has been consistently dominant. ASU has multiple players with two fouls, which might play a role late in the half and early into the second half.
UPDATE #4: At the under eight-minute media timeout, UNC leads ASU 29-19. UNC has pushed the ball upfloor and gotten a couple of easy baskets on the Mountaineers defense. Milum and Villarino have added buckets in the past few minutes, but UNC has continued to set the pace on the glass.
UPDATE #3: At the under 12-minute time out, UNC holds a 21-8 lead over ASU. Omar Carter has a pair of field goals since entering the contest. Zeller leads the Tar Heels with 11 points.
UPDATE #2: UNC jumps out to an early 13-4 advantage four and a half minutes into the contest. Tyler Zeller has seven points for UNC, with a bucket from Carter and Williamson to account for ASU's offense thus far. Carolina has had several second chance opportunities offensively thus far.
UPDATE #1: Okum, Milum, Williamson, Trice and Mike Neal start for ASU, with UNC countering with Strickland, Marshall, Zeller, Barnes and Henson. The Dean Dome is bouncing, although there is a good contingent of fans who have made their way from Boone for today's game.
We're LIVE at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill for this evening's hoops contest between Appalachian State and the No. 6 (AP) ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. ASU is coming off a disappointing home defeat to East Tennessee State last Saturday, Dec. 10, while UNC battled to down a game Long Beach State team the same day.
This is ASU's first meeting with Carolina since opening the Holmes Center in the 2000-2001 season. In that contest in Boone, UNC was dominant in a 99-69 win before the second-largest crowd in Holmes Center history.
Tip time is set for 6 p.m. in Chapel Hill, and we'll be reporting with updates throughout the contest. Thanks for reading!
