Analysis

Peterson challenges team at halftime,
Vols respond with “Buzzball”

James Nix - Sports Beat

They call it “Buzzball,” and it dominated the second half against the Appalachian State University basketball team last Thursday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.

The University of Tennessee, headed by former ASU head coach Buzz Peterson, used Appalachian’s poor second-half performance to send the Mountaineers back to Boone with a 97-66 loss.

“They deserve all the credit; they beat us in the second half,” said Appalachian head coach Houston Fancher. “They took it to us, and we didn’t respond.”

The Volunteers outscored Appalachian 60-32 in the second half after only leading by three at halftime.

The Mountaineers surprised many in the first half by playing aggressive defense complimented by solid scoring.

It seemed the game would head into halftime tied until Tennessee’s Thaydeus Holden’s three-point buzzer shot gave the Vols an edge.

“I really put a challenge to them at halftime,” said Peterson about his halftime talk with his team. “There was a lot said. I liked what I saw [in the second half]; they responded very well.”

It took Tennessee less than five minutes into the second half to acquire a double-digit lead over the Mountaineers. After that, there was no turning back.

“We stopped playing defense,” said Appalachian forward Josh Shehan. “We played defense the first half and were down by three. We came out in the second half and didn’t play defense and they scored 60 points on us.”

With the defense down, Appalachian’s scoring opportunities grew further and further apart. The Mountaineers only shot 40 percent from the field and a dismal 15 percent from behind the arch.

“We’re disappointed in the way our kids competed in the second half, and it’s hard to overlook that,” said Fancher.

Overall, ASU’s offense stayed close to par with that of the first half. However, without the defense, it was easy for the Vols to whip the Mountaineers.

“The thing I don’t want us to do is make offense our calling card,” said Fancher. “I want defense to be our calling card. If we are not scoring, then we still have to defend.

“That’s got to be the constant for us and tonight it wasn’t.”

Senior guard Buddy Davis said Appalachian’s poor second-half start allowed Tennessee to build up the momentum to completely dominate the rest of the ballgame.

Davis also commented on the team’s reaction to being the underdog. He said the team knew they could defeat the Volunteers, but they fell into the idea Tennessee was supposed to win and didn’t respond to its aggression.

Reunion or no reunion, it was apparent that Peterson was out to win the ball game – exactly what his employer pays him to do.

“Appalachian State has a special place in my heart,” said Peterson. “I just tried to go out there and do the best job I could for the University of Tennessee and win the ball game.”

Both coaches are relieved the game is in the past.

Fancher now has to prepare his team for the rest of the season. “It’s over with and we’re going to go on and be stronger for it,” said Fancher.

Paul Sherar - Chief Photographer

Mountaineer guard Matt Jones challenges a Liberty defender during the ASU victory Saturday evening. Jones led the way with 27 points.

James Nix - Sports Beat

Turnovers were the story of the game Saturday night as the Appalachian State University Mountaineers defeated the Liberty University Flames 95-77.

Appalachian and Liberty combined for a total of 66 turnovers at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center.

“As sloppy as we played, we still won by 20,” said junior center Josh Shehan. “That shows how much better we can get if we can take care of the ball.”

Shehan played a dominant role in the team’s victory, hitting 6-11 from the field and nailing all six of his free-throw attempts for 18 points.

Shehan also pulled down 10 rebounds, giving the Mountaineers its only double-double.

Also a major contributor, sophomore guard Matt Jones played 33 minutes and scored 27 points for the Mountaineers.

One thing is for sure, amidst the 31 Appalachian turnovers, the team never gave up.

“We kept fighting and we didn’t quit,” said Shehan. “We kept turning the ball over but we never quit.”

However, the season-high 31 turnovers may be the early stages of a better Mountaineer team.

Nineteen assists were mixed in with turnovers, another season high.
“We weren’t just throwing the ball away or dribbling off our foot,” said Shehan. “We were trying to make plays; we were being aggressive.”

Head coach Houston Fancher said he was glad to see aggression behind many of the turnovers against Liberty.

The Mountaineers made adjustments to deal with the Flames’ zone defense. Fancher said his players got caught in between that adjustment.

“They got in between a little bit and weren’t sure what to do and made some bad decisions,” said Fancher. “But they were of an aggressive nature, and that’s good.”

The early aggression the Mountaineers are showing will likely improve as the team becomes more comfortable on the court.

Several turnovers came from good passes thrown just a little too late or too early. With practice, Appalachian should cut down on turnovers tremendously.

The 35 turnovers from Liberty’s side showed something else about the Mountaineers; they were playing defense.

Against the University of Tennessee, Appalachian’s defense disappeared in the second half. Against the Flames, however, Mountaineer defense was present throughout the game.

Fancher said he talked to his team about making defense a constant in games.

“It’s early. Offense will get better down the stretch,” said Fancher.

“Defense and effort is something we should never have to be concerned with.”

The Mountaineers also found more open shots from three-point range against Liberty, but only hit 5 out of 18 attempts.

Jones said there were more three-point opportunities against the zone defense Liberty played. He also said his team should improve on its low three-point shooting percentage.

James Nix - The Appalachian

Tennessee guard Jenis Grindstaff (24) looks for a teammate while being flanked by Mountaineer guard Noah Brown during the Volunteers’ 97-66 victory Thursday evening in Knoxville, Tenn.

Chris Boyce - Sports Beat

The coach beat the assistant in Round One of Buzz Peterson versus Houston Fancher, as the University of Tennessee Volunteers rolled to a 97-66 victory over Appalachian State University Thursday night in Knoxville, Tenn.

The game marked the first meeting between former Appalachian State head coach Peterson and his former assistant, current head coach Fancher.

Thaydeus Holden’s career-high 20 points and forward Ron Slay’s 15 points and three assists led the Volunteers. Appalachian State’s Jonathan Butler led the Mountaineers with 11 points, but he was the only Mountaineer to score double digits.

Appalachian State played tough against the Vols in the first half, taking a 30-28 lead with five minutes remaining in the half after a Charles Dearmon three-point basket.

But with the score tied 34-34, Tennessee’s Holden drilled a three at the buzzer to put the Volunteers up 37-34 at the end of the first half.

Tennessee dominated the second half, exploding with a 14-4 run to start the second half.

An alley-oop from Holden to Vincent Yarbrough with 11:16 left put the Volunteers up 63-47, and the Mountaineers fell apart en route to their 31-point loss.

A teary-eyed Buzz Peterson after the game spoke of the difficulty in playing a team so close to his heart.

“Appalachian’s always been a special place for me and always will be, but I’m glad it’s behind us,” said Peterson.

Peterson spent four years coaching the Mountaineers from 1996-2000, compiling a record of 79-39 and gathering three regular season Southern Conference titles in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

He took the Mountaineers to the NCAA Tournament in 2000 after winning the SoCon Tournament.

Peterson said his close relationship with Fancher made it tough to see his former assistant standing at visiting team’s bench.

“I tried my best not to look down there. I didn’t want to look and see him down there because he’s just a good friend and Appalachian State’s always been a special place for me,” said Peterson. “I just tried to go out there and do the best job I could for the University of Tennessee and win the ball game.”

“One of the reasons we were successful [at Appalachian] was because of the job Houston did of motivating the guys. His input into the program and his recruiting efforts did a tremendous job and he will continue to do a tremendous job,” he said.

Fancher, too, was glad the game was over but for slightly different reasons.

“I’m glad it’s over because we were down so much,” said Fancher, who was left feeling bittersweet.

“It brings back a lot of good times that we had but at the same time we’re disappointed with how our kids competed in the second half and it’s hard to overlook that right now,” he said. “It’s over with and this is gonna make us a lot better team in January and February when it really matters.”

Mountaineer forward and former Peterson player Josh Shehan was pleased for his former coach but dejected about his team’s performance.

“I’m happy for him. He did a good job with us; he did a good job with [University of] Tulsa. He’s a good coach and everything’s he’s gotten, he deserves,” said Shehan.

Appalachian State senior forward Buddy Davis played two seasons for Peterson.

“It was great to see him,” said Davis. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win, but it was great to see him and see his team doing well. It was so different seeing him with all this orange.”

What is the future, if any, of Appalachian State versus Tennessee?
“Buzz really doesn’t like playing friends, but eventually when he gets things established over here, I think we’ll do it again, and eventually I think he’ll bring his team to Boone,” said Fancher.

Paul Sherar - Chief Photographer

Appalachian State guard Jonathan Butler (3) weaves through traffic Saturday night at the Holmes Center. Butler finished with 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the floor.

Michael Gilliland - Contributing Writer

The Appalachian State University women’s basketball team broke a three-game losing streak with a 65-55 win over East Carolina University Thursday night at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center.

Freshman Lindsay Smith scored Appalachian’s first seven points, as the Mountaineers took an early 7-2 lead in the game’s first three minutes. After a layup by ECU’s Shani Sutton cut ASU’s lead to 10-8, the Mountaineers scored nine straight to take a 19-10 edge.

With the score 23-18 with 4:16 left in the first half, Appalachian went on a 12-1 run to take a 35-19 lead and a 35-23 advantage to the locker room at intermission.

ECU would cut the lead to seven on three occasions in the second half, but never seriously threatened. Following a lay-up by ASU freshman Jessica Jank that made the score 53-40 with 11:00 remaining in the game, the Mountaineers suffered a four minute, 40-second scoring drought.

However, the Pirates failed to take advantage, as they had a four-minute, five-second scoreless streak of their own that occurred within the Appalachian scoreless streak. ASU sank five free throws in the final 59 seconds to seal the victory.

Mountaineer head coach Barbie Breedlove said, “I’m really, really pleased with our performance because East Carolina’s a very good basketball team.

“They’re extremely quick and athletic, and they’re from Conference USA, which was ranked the sixth-best conference in the nation last season.”

A players-only meeting called for by team captains Ashleigh Fuller and Tiffany Cole Tuesday night also impressed Breedlove. In the meeting, the players went back over the scouting report for the East Carolina game.

“I told them how proud I was of them before the game. I’ve never had a team do that. I’ve never had a team that was that intent and focused on winning,” said Breedlove.

Smith led ASU in scoring with 15 points. Guard Jaymi Wilson scored six points and tied a career high and Southern Conference season high with nine assists.

Six of ASU’s first seven second-half field goals came via Wilson assists. Jank had eight points, nine rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots.

Center Joanie White scored nine points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Freshman point guard Michelle Conklin scored all eight of her points in the second half, and also had five assists in 34 minutes.

Tali Robich led East Carolina with 16 points and four assists. Kris Richardson, who was the Pirates’ leading scorer entering the game, was held scoreless.

Appalachian State lost its last three games by a total of only seven points.

The win avenges a 72-65 loss to the Pirates last season. In that game, a season high 37 turnovers led to a season low 48 shot attempts for the Mountaineers.