HICKORY, N.C. – App State coach Dustin Kerns summed
up Sunday’s game with High Point with a somewhat apropos – if not mildly
painful – descriptor.
“One of our themes with our team was that this (game) has
got to be a bar fight,” Kerns said.
The first few minutes of the game featured App State bashing
a chair or two over High Point’s collective heads, as the Mountaineers jumped
out to a 16-2 lead. With 2:36 remaining, the Panthers had the black-and-gold
dangling horizontally, ready to fire them into the parking lot like a cut scene
from the movie Road House.
High Point guard Conrad Martinez put home a layup to – it seemed,
anyway – warm up the buses for a ride back up the cold and windy mountain for
App State at that 2:36 mark, putting the Panthers ahead, 68-60. App State
wriggled free from the bouncers, though, throwing a flurry of 11 of the next 14
punches to even the score and force one final round.
In that final round, App State again borrowed from film lore
and slid High Point down the bar one final time.
Kerns’ Mountaineers scored 15 points in the extra session,
closing out a day where a pair of App State scorers logged career-highs and
another just missed, delivering an 86-78 decision in Lenoir-Rhyne University’s
Shuford Memorial Arena.
You know what happened. Now, it’s time to go…Inside the
Numbers!
Three is key: App
State logged its season-high three-point total – against Division 1 foes, at
least – by hitting 13 triples in 27 attempts. Guards Alonzo Dodd – more on him
in a bit – and Eren Banks combined for nine of those threes on 17 tries.
“I think that was part of what they were willing to give up,”
Kerns said. “We’ve got good shooters. We’ve seen our guys make shots, and credit
to our guys for getting to catch-and-shoot (situations). We worked on some
things offensively to maybe get some catch-and-shoots. I think they were
willing to live with our shooting threes. Fortunately for us, we made them –
and our free throws.”
Three is key, part 2:
Conversely, High Point took its season-high number of threes by
far in trying 44 on the day. The Panthers’ prior season-high was 32 against
Canisius. High Point sank just 11 of those tries. Kerns was mostly happy with
the way that turned out for his side.
“Certainly, with (guard Chase) Johnston and (forward Braden)
Hausen, those were two guys that we didn’t want to shoot threes,” Kerns said. “Everybody
else, we did not want them to get to the paint. They want to get into the paint
and they put themselves in great isolation basketball and rely on their talent –
which they’ve got a lot of (talent). If you help, they’re going to kick it to a
shooter.”
“We were content with – you can’t take it all way. We were
content with trusting our contests on the ball with the other players. If they
weren’t getting to the paint, it was hard for them to get fouled. I think they’re
really good at drawing (fouls). Certainly with (Hausen and Johnston), we did
not want those guys to shoot threes. They only shot 13 combined.”
The pair hit four of those 13 tries (30.8 percent).
Fletcher feeling it:
High Point forward Cam Fletcher recorded his fifth double-double of
the 2025-26 campaign, scoring 10 points and snatching 10 boards. Fletcher
turned in prior double-doubles against Furman, UAB, Incarnate Word, and Western
Carolina. Fletcher’s 30 minutes of action were second only to Terry Anderson
among High Point forwards.
Veteran presence: Back
to Dodd – he and App center Luke Wilson both had career-best days. Dodd booked
25 points on 5-for-9 from the deck (5-for-6 from three) and 10-for-12 from the
line. Dodd also boarded seven misses and dished seven helpers. Wilson scored 19
and grabbed 10 caroms, recording his third double-double in a row. Guard Kasen
Jennings narrowly missed a career-high of his own, tallying 21.
“The game of basketball rewards work. The magic is in the
work, and some kids figure that out, and some kids don’t,” Kerns said. “Luke
Wilson’s – we’ve been in exams, and he’s been in there on his own with the
coaches getting extra work in every day. He is really – I think – addicted to
how he’s playing, and so he’s fallen in love with the process of being good.
The process is loving him back.”
“Those (Wilson and Dodd) are some older guys, and I just
think they met the moment. I think they fed off the energy in the building.
That energy helped them meet the moment.”
Dodd played much of the second half and overtime with four
fouls after collecting his fourth with 10 minutes remaining in the game. The
guard’s veteran presence proved indisposable down the stretch.
“This whole year – even last year – he left me in the game
in key moments, so I know (Kerns) has confidence in me. I know my teammates
have confidence in me,” Dodd said. “Just to go out there with that crowd with
that noise and knowing (Kerns) trusts me – it just feels great knowing my
teammates trust me to make the right plays. I shot some tough shots and they
went in, but just knowing they have confidence in me brings my game to another
level.”
Wilson turned in a series of key plays, including a baseline
throw-in with just two seconds left on the shot clock. Wilson caught the
inbounds pass heading toward the tin, banked home a bucket, and drew a foul.
Wilson was quite emotional after the play, as he was much of the game. The
intensity of the game helped motivate the Mountaineer big man.
“I always say in our individual meetings with the bigs that
we’ve got the best big lineup in the country, in my opinion,” Wilson said. “We’re
some dogs. That’s what dogs do – they talk their stuff. That just kept me hyped
and kept me going.”
“My confidence is growing every single game, and knowing I
can put up numbers like that every game, it comes with that. It means a lot. My
coaches are staying with me in the gym, and I’m trying to push myself so I can
be better for my team.”
Calm and creativity:
Jennings’ 21 were punctuated by a key take on the final Mountaineer
possession of regulation. Following a missed free throw on the other end of the
floor, Jennings attacked the tin from the right side and put home the
game-tying bucket.
“We called a timeout to try to ice the free throw shooter
(Conrad Martinez), who shoots 90 percent, but we also wanted to set up what we
were doing, make or miss,” Kerns said. “We got the miss – and that wasn’t the
play – but Kasen Jennings made a play. Sometimes, when you’ve got good players,
you don’t have to run plays. Your players make plays. He saw an opportunity. I
trust him.”
“That’s not the first time he’s done it, and he did it
again. Credit him.”
Meaningful wins: Kerns
was happier with the win knowing it came against such a quality opponent.
“They’ve got a really well-coached, great program. They’ve
got more than a team, they’ve got a great program,” Kerns said. “They’ve won
two championships. The Big South’s a really good league, but I think High Point
will be right there in contention to do it again and be in March Madness. We
beat a great team, a well-coached team, and one that’s going to win a lot of games.”
Heading to Hickory:
App State will look to play more games in Hickory following the
successes of this game and the contest between the Mountaineers and UNC
Asheville two years ago.
“That’s something we are trying to do every other year is to
play in Hickory, where we’ve got a campus and our great university is growing,”
Kerns said. “This is a great area for us to play in, especially around the
holidays. This was strategic to play in front of the Hickory crowd. I thought
we had a great fan base and great energy. I thought (High Point) brought a lot
of fans, and this was just a great atmosphere and great college basketball
game. This was strategic, and hopefully we can be back here in a couple years.”
Totals: Dodd’s
25 led all scorers for App State, with Jennings adding 21 on 8-of-13 shooting
(3-of-5 from distance). Wilson’s 19 were accompanied by Banks’s 14. App State
shot 47.4 percent (27-for-57) on the day, hitting 48.1 percent (13-of-27) of
their tries from distance. The Mountaineers sank 73.1 percent (19-for-26) of their
attempts from the charity stripe.
High Point placed five scorers in double figures, guided by
Anderson’s 17 on 6-for-13 shooting (3-for-7 from deep). Rob Martin scored 12,
with Fletcher, Hausen, and Martinez contributing 10 apiece. High Point finished
the day 26-for-75 (34.7 percent) from the field and 11-for-44 (25 percent) from
three. The Panthers hit 15 of their 27 free throw tries (55 percent).
Next up: High
Point returns home to the Qubein Center in High Point, N.C., to take on the
Fighting Squirrels of Mary Baldwin University Tuesday night. Game time is set
for 7:00 (Eastern), with coverage over ESPN+. App State returns to the Holmes
Center in Boone, N.C., to start Sun Belt play Thursday night against the Coastal
Carolina Chanticleers. ESPN+ will handle the coverage of the 6:30 start.
Hustle Stats:
Points off turnovers:
High Point 17, App State 12
Points in the paint:
High Point 30, App State 22
Second-chance points:
High Point 9, App State 7
Fast-break points:
High Point 13, App State 8
Bench points: High
Point 28, App State 5
APP STATE 86, HIGH POINT 78 (OT)
HIGH POINT (8-3)
Anderson 6-13 2-4 17, Aquino 3-6 2-5 8, Fletcher 4-15 2-2 10, Martin 2-7 7-9 12, Johnston 1-4 0-0 3, Washington 2-6 0-0 6, Hausen 3-11 1-4 10, Singare 1-1 0-1 2, Martinez 4-12 1-2 10, Ibukunoluwa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-75 15-27 75.
APP STATE (7-5)
Marcus 1-4 0-0 2, Wilson 6-8 7-11 19, Dodd 5-9 10-12 25,
Banks 5-15 0-0 14, Jennings 8-13 2-3 21, Moodie 1-3 0-0 2, Clarke 0-3 0-0 0,
Njock 0-1 0-0 0, Tot 0-0 0-0 0, Brim 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 27-57 19-28 86.
Halftime: App State 34-33. 3-Point
goals: App State 13-27 (Marcus 0-2, Dodd 5-6, Banks 4-11, Jennings
3-5, Clarke 0-1, Njock 0-1, Brim 1-1), High Point 11-44 (Anderson 3-7, Aquino
0-1, Fletcher 0-6, Martin 1-4, Johnston 1-4, Washington 2-6, Hausen 3-9,
Martinez 1-7). Fouled out: Martin (HPU), Aquino (HPU), Anderson
(HPU), Marcus (ASU). Rebounds: High
Point 45 (Fletcher 10), App State 45 (Wilson 10). Total fouls: High
Point 26, App State 20. Technicals: NA.
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