GREENSBORO, N.C. – App State left the floor for the
interval break, seemingly in search of a spark. That spark would surely come in
the form of a fiery, motivational halftime speech from the Mountaineers’
leader, Dustin Kerns – right?
“No, not really,” Kerns said with a laugh.
Whatever Kerns said, it worked.
Gardner-Webb led Kerns’ Mountaineers, 31-29, at the half.
That lead lasted another 24 seconds, as Terence Harcum hit App State’s first
three of the day and unleashed a barrage. App State scored 37 of the first 52
points in the half en route to a dominant 80-59 victory over Gardner-Webb Saturday
afternoon in the Novant Fieldhouse.
Gardner-Webb (5-7) started strong, racing out to a 7-2 lead.
The advantage held for all but the first basket of the game, as the Runnin’
Bulldogs staved off every Mountaineer charge. The lead never grew larger than
two possessions, however. Gardner-Webb continued to attack the middle of the
Moumtaineer defense while taking App State out of its comfort zone.
“They really were mucking us up, going under stuff, and
packing it in,” Kerns said of the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the first half. “They
were really taking us out of what we wanted to do.
“They were very comfortable. We really stressed transition
defense. They were getting out in transition and playing their style. They led
for 19 minutes. They had the lead. They deserved that. We finally settled down
and got to playing our game.”
App State (9-2) inarguably played its game in the second 20.
After going 0-for-8 from distance in the opening half, the Mountaineers wasted
little time after the Harcum triple. Two more threes followed, as Harcum splashed
one home after a CJ Huntley three to help create some separation. The Mountaineers
continued to dictate tempo, swelling the advantage to 17 and compelling two
timeouts from Gardner-Webb coach Tim Craft in a roughly two-minute span.
“Our depth is for real,” Kerns said. “We kind of wear people
down. Our minutes and scoring are balanced, and our depth is certainly part of
our strength.”
The Mountaineers continued their persistent effort, leading
by as many as 23 points. The open doors into the lane Gardner-Webb enjoyed in
the first half slammed shut. Gardner-Webb shot just 38.5 percent (10-for-26) in
the second half, seeing just 2-for-10 fall from beyond the arc. App State, for
its part, sank a blistering 61.1 percent (22-for-36) in the final stanza,
pushing the Mountaineers over 50 percent shooting on the night. Kerns’ club
also dropped six threes in the period.
“We just kind of scrapped what we were doing, spread the
floor, and let them play,” Kerns said. “We got some threes down and relaxed a
little bit.”
App State placed three scorers in double figures. Tre’Von
Spillers tallied 16 points, hitting 8-of-11 from the floor and adding five
caroms. Harcum added 12 on 5-for-9 shooting and 2-for-6 from distance. Jordan
Marsh contributed 11 in reserve duty for the Mountaineers, getting downhill and
creating angles at the basket. Marsh finished the day 5-for-9 from the floor
and grabbed four boards. The Mountaineers, despite their hot shooting ways, hit
just 6-of-17 from the free throw line.
Caleb Robinson led Gardner-Webb and all scorers with 18.
Robinson connected on 5-of-11 from the deck and 7-of-10 from the charity
stripe. DQ Nicholas added 12 on 5-for-12 shooting, while securing six boards.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs finished the day shooting 35 percent (21-for-60) from the
field and 25 percent (6-for-24) from bonus range.
The game also afforded App State the chance to play its
first of back-to-back neutral-site games, with the contest played just under
two hours from its Boone campus.
“It was great to be here in Greensboro,” Kerns said. “It was
a really neat environment. I thought we had a pretty good crowd. Now we go on
to Hickory and play UNC Asheville, who’s picked to win the Big South, so we’ve
got another game with our hands full right before Christmas.”
The neutral-site matchup between the Mountaineers and
Bulldogs is set for 7:00 (Eastern) Thursday night from the Tarlton Complex on
the campus of Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. The game will
be broadcast over ESPN+.
Gardner-Webb travels to McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn.,
to take on Chattanooga of the Southern Conference. Tip time for the Runnin’
Bulldogs and Mocs is set for 7:00, with streaming available via ESPN+.
APP STATE 80, GARDNER-WEBB 59
GARDNER-WEBB (5-7)
Robinson 5-11 7-10 18, Soumaoro 3-11 0-0 8, Nicholas 5-12
2-3 12, Stieber 1-3 0-0 3, Sissoko 0-0 0-0 0, Mykalcio 0-0 0-0 0, Aldridge 3-8
0-0 8, Badmus 1-2 1-2 3, Simmons 1-4 0-0 2, Lazar 0-2 0-0 0, Richards 2-7 1-2 5.
Totals 21-60 11-17 59.
APP STATE (9-2)
Brown 3-4 0-0 6, Gregory 2-10 5-6 9, Abson 4-7 0-3 8, Harcum
5-9 0-0 12, Spillers 8-11 0-4 16, Mantis 2-5 0-0 6, Marsh 5-9 1-2 11, Tate 2-8
0-0 5, Greene 0-0 0-0 0, Huntley 3-4 0-2 7, Ledford 0-0 0-0 0, Fennema 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 34-67 6-17 80.
Halftime: Gardner-Webb
31-29. 3-Point goals: App State 6-23
(Gregory 0-2, Abson 0-1, Harcum 2-6, Mantis 2-5, Marsh 0-3, Tate 1-4, Huntley
1-2), Gardner-Webb 6-24 (Robinson 1-1, Soumaoro 2-7, Nicholas 0-2, Stieber 1-3,
Aldridge 2-6, Simmons 0-2, Lazar 0-1, Richards 0-1). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Gardner-Webb 45 (Stieber 9), App State 37
(Huntley 8). Assists: App State 19
(Gregory/Tate 5), Gardner-Webb 6 (Soumaoro 2). Total fouls: Gardner-Webb 14, App State 11.
Technicals: NA.
Points off turnovers:
App State 20, Gardner-Webb 5.
Points in the paint: App State 50,
Gardner-Webb 24. Second-chance
points: App State 8, Gardner-Webb 7. Fast-break points: App State 10, Gardner-Webb 3. Bench points:
App State 29, Gardner-Webb 18.
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