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Commentary
Second half disappointments constant for Mountaineers
James Nix
An unfamiliar team
roamed the court during the first half of Appalachian State University’s
93-91 loss to the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Monday at the George
M. Holmes Convocation Center.
The Mountaineers (5-11, 1-6 Southern Conference) did not look like a team
that only won one of its last seven games.
Appalachian shot 51 percent from the field, 72 percent from the free-throw
line and a season-high 100 percent from three-point territory.
The Mountaineers even out-rebounded the Keydets 23-7 in the opening half.
The only thing Appalachian needed improvement on was containing VMI freshman
forward Jason Conley, who scored 19 first-half points. Conley leads both
the SoCon and the nation in scoring, averaging 28 points per game.
Despite Conley, however, Appalachian seemed to do everything right.
It was difficult to imagine a Mountaineer loss at the end of the half
with ASU leading 57-45.
But as the second half got underway, a painfully familiar Mountaineer
team emerged.
Shots stopped falling, fouls added up and their perfect three-point percentage
fell to 25 percent by game’s end.
Conley broke free from Appalachian’s defense, and slowly the 13-point
halftime lead dwindled to an 89-81 VMI lead with 43 seconds remaining
in the game.
In desperation, the Mountaineers managed to pull it closer with a few
well-executed plays, including a missed free throw by junior guard Graham
Bunn knocked back out to the perimeter by junior center Josh Shehan to
give Appalachian another three-point opportunity.
VMI, however, hit many critical free throws to pull out with the victory.
Sadly, Monday night’s game is the norm for the Mountaineers this
season. Solid first half performances have turned to nothing as Appalachian
fails to stay consistent both halves of the ballgame.
It happened against the University of Tennessee. Appalachian played a
tough first half and only trailed by three going into halftime. Tennessee
then blew ASU out in the second half and won 97-61.
It happened against East Tennessee State University. Appalachian trailed
by only three at the half before losing 75-66.
It also happened against Furman University Saturday in Greenville, S.C.
The Mountaineers lost 91-78 after only trailing by two at intermission.
“As a team, we’re not all on the same page throughout the game,”
said senior forward Buddy Davis.
Davis said the team saw its lead against VMI in danger going into halftime
and talked about entering the second half with the same fire witnessed
in the first half. That, however, did not happen as planned.
Appalachian’s inability to play both halves of a game could plague
the team for the rest of the season.
In VMI’s case, Conley stepped up big in the second half, which allowed
the Keydets to come back. Appalachian’s only answer was Davis, who
posted 18 points. Only five of those points came in the second half, however.
Appalachian’s lack of a go-to guy really showed as the clock ticked
down and shots refused to fall. Five Mountaineers finished in double digits,
but none managed to reach the 20-point mark.
“Right now we don’t necessarily have a go-to guy that we can
go to finish a play,” said head coach Houston Fancher.
The shots were there, though. Davis launched 14 attempts, but only six
dropped in. The team threw up eight three-pointers in the second half,
but connected on only two.
In situations like the one against the Keydets, those baskets must fall.
Appalachian just cannot seem to make it happen, though.
Appalachian needs to find some way to finish its games as it heads into
the remainder of the season and the fast-approaching SoCon Tournament.
Whether it is a go-to guy or a more combined team effort, the Mountaineers
will continue to lurk at the bottom of the SoCon if a remedy is not found.
Mountaineers top
Wildcats to earn first victory of the season
ASU Sports Information
Victorious in all
but one bout, Appalachian State University’s wrestling team topped
a depleted Davidson College squad 46-3 in Southern Conference action Tuesday
night at Varsity Gym. Appalachian won three of four matches and claimed
forfeit wins in the remaining weight classes to ensure its first victory
of the 2001-02 season.
Steve Fox, a Salisbury native, opened the match for the Mountaineers with
a 6-3 decision over Grant Doornbos in the 149-pound weight division. The
win put the home Apps on top 3-0.
At 157, Davidson’s Jeff Bender handed Durham’s Ryan LaRue an
8-5 decision. For Bender, it was his first triumph of the season, evening
his record at 1-1 and tying the score of the match at 3-3.
Mark Fee, from Coral Springs, Fla., responded for the Mountaineers with
a 15-1 major decision over Mark O’Hair at 165. The 2001 SoCon champion,
Fee gave up the shutout with 30 remaining in the contest and fell one-point
shy on his try for the technical fall.
After victories, courtesy of forfeit, at 174 and 184 pounds, Appalachian
led 19-3. Mark Hobbs, a Matthews native, earned a 3-1 decision at 197
to push the advantage to 22-3. Following three additional forfeits at
125, 133, and 141 pounds, the final tally was 40-3.
Appalachian (1-4 overall, 1-1 SoCon) returns to the mat Sunday when it
entertains Virginia Tech. Match time is set for 3:30 p.m. in Varsity Gym.
Davidson (0-2 overall, 0-1 SoCon) looks for its first win of the season
Saturday, when it travels to University of North Carolina at Greensboro
for a SoCon bout at noon.
Paul
Sherar - Chief Photographer
Mountaineers
guard Aisha Bryant tries to drive toward the goal in Monday's loss to
the Chattanooga Mocs.
Paul
Sherar - Chief Photographer
Appalachian
senior forward Buddy Davis attempts to put up a shot in over a pair
of Keydet defenders. Davis led the Mountaineers with 18 points and
11 rebounds in the Mountaineers’ 93-91 SoCon loss. The
Mountaineers travel to Charleston Saturday to face the Bulldogs at
The Citadel. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
Despite
strong first half Mountaineers come up short against VMI
Chris
Boyce - Sports Beat
If
Appalachian State University’s men’s basketball team had
played their second half Monday night against the Virginia Military
Institute (VMI) anything like they played their first half, the Mountaineers
might have walked away with a much-needed win.
Instead, Appalachian State (5-12, 1-6 in SoCon) let an 18-point lead
slip through their fingers, falling to the lowly Keydets 93-91.
The nation’s leading scorer, freshman Jason Conley, blasted the
Mountaineers for 34 points on 12 of 19 shooting from the floor, including
three alley-oop slams for VMI (6-11, 1-6 in SoCon).
Senior forward Buddy Davis played perhaps his best game of the season
in the losing effort, leading the Mountaineers with 18 points and
11 rebounds.
The Mountaineers nearly completed an improbable comeback late in the
game, rallying from seven points down with only 23 seconds remaining
after a pair of Mountaineer three-point attempts drew fouls.
Appalachian State guard Graham Bunn’s three-point try drew contact
from VMI’s Richard Little, and the Bowling Green transfer knocked
down two out of three free throws before missing the third attempt.
Fortunately for the Mountaineers, the ball was tipped back to guard
Jonathan Butler who was fouled by the Keydets’ Ben Rand while
attempting another three-pointer.
Butler knocked down all three free throws, and miraculously Appalachian
State found itself down only two, 90-88, with nine seconds remaining.
A quick foul on the VMI inbound sent Rand to the line and the sophomore
buried both free throws.
Appalachian State’s Noah Brown knocked down a quick three-pointer
to cut the score to 92-91 with four seconds to play, and the Mountaineers
fouled Radee Skipworth with 1.6 seconds left.
Skipworth’s first free throw attempt was good. The next was intentionally
missed and fell into the hands of Mountaineer guard Charles Dearmon
who heaved the ball the full length of the court.
However, the shot was wide left, sending the Mountaineers to their
eighth loss in nine games.
Appalachian State got off to a quick start in the first half, jumping
out to a 15-4 lead in a flurry of aggressive post play and deadly
outside shooting.
Davis scored 10 of the Mountaineers’ first 23 points and finished
with 13 points at the half.
The Mountaineers expanded their lead to 18 after Matt Jones’
three-point basket. With 9:28 left to play, the score was 38-20.
But Conley and the Keydets began chipping away at the lead shortly
after and closed the deficit to 12 points, trailing 57-45 at halftime.
VMI went on an 11-2 run to open the second half, thanks largely to
forcing Mountaineer turnovers and tied the contest at 61-61 after
a free throw by Conley with 13:15 remaining in the second half.
The Keydets grabbed their first lead at the 11:52 minute mark after
a layup by forward Skip Worth made the score 65-64, and VMI extended
its lead to eight after a dunk by Conley with 1:05 left, 89-81.
Following the loss both Davis and Appalachian State head coach Houston
Fancher were disappointed about being unable to hold the big lead.
“We had an 18-point lead, and they started to cut it down,”
said Davis.
“We came out in the second half intending to hold it but we didn’t.”
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well in the second half,
and they played with more passion.
Unfortunately we got some good looks, but we missed them at point
blank range,” said Fancher.
The Mountaineers this season have been plagued by their inability
to put together two solid halves of basketball, a concept Davis addressed.
“We play good in spurts,” said Davis. “If we can keep
it up the whole game then we can be a good team, but we’re so
inconsistent.”
After fast start, Mocs cruise past Appalachian 86-68
Andy
Morris - Sports Beat
The
game clock at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center had difficulty
starting Monday night at the beginning of the Appalachian State University
women’s basketball game against the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga (UTC).
The Mountaineers probably wished it had never started.
The Mocs dominated the game from tipoff en route to an 86-68 rout
in Southern Conference action.
The loss, Appalachian’s fifth straight, drops the Mountaineers
to 6-12 and 2-7 in the Southern Conference. Chattanooga improves to
11-6 and 6-3 in conference and is on a three-game winning streak.
Chattanooga jumped out to a 27-9 lead in the first nine minutes of
play with accurate shooting and key penetration underneath the basket.
The Mountaineers continued to fall further behind as Appalachian appeared
out of sync and struggled in its shot selection.
“You can’t dig yourselves in a hole against a team such
as Chattanooga like we did tonight,” said Mountaineers’
head coach Barbie Breedlove. “Digging ourselves into a hole has
definitely been a problem for us in recent games.”
The Mountaineers were never able to cut the lead below 10 as Chattanooga
coasted through the second half to secure the win.
Sophomore guard Aisha Bryant, who led the Mountaineers with 21 points
and was the only Appalachian player in double figures, said the team
still struggles with coming back after getting into a deficit.
“When we get down by five or 10, we still haven’t realized
that we can come back from that,” said Bryant. “It all comes
down to us believing that we can win.”
The game was Appalachian’s fourth in the past six days, and Breedlove
said that heavy schedule affected her team against Chattanooga.
“I think a lot of our key players had very heavy legs,”
she said. “We have traveled and played a lot, so fatigue was
a factor tonight.”
Bryant said the tight schedule definitely had an effect on the team’s
performance.
“It took a tremendous toll on our team,” she said. “Not
to take anything away from UTC, but it is hard to have a schedule
like that. It’s hard to be at your top level of play.”
The problem for the Mountaineers lies in putting the work done in
practice out on the court during games.
“In practice, everything works out easy, but in games, people
just forget,” said Bryant. “We have to put it all together.
It’s the simple things that are hurting us.”
The Mountaineers get a break after the loss to Chattanooga and do
not play again until Saturday at 2 p.m. in the George M. Holmes Convocation
Center against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
On a positive note for the Mountaineers, freshman forward and the
team’s leading scorer Joanie White led Appalachian in minutes
for the first time in the past four games. White missed two of the
Mountaineers’ last three games and saw only limited action against
Western Carolina University last Saturday.
“She’s been sick and has been taking antibiotics,”
said Breedlove. “When she only has limited minutes, it hurts
our team because she’s our anchor. Hopefully, this break will
allow her to get healthy.”
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