Sports

Apps glad to return home after 1-5 road swing
Justin Griffin
Reporter

In the past month the Appalachian State MenÕs Basketball team has played eight games on a grueling road tour across the country. In that stretch, the Mountaineers won three, lost five.

On Monday night, Appalachian came from behind to defeat VMI by a score of 77-72. The win gave the Mountaineers their first conference win of the season. The come from behind victory was AppalachianÕs first since February 29, 1996 against The Citadel. ÒAppalachian State did a good job.Ó, said VMI coach Bart Bellairs. ÒWe were winning the game for the first 28 minutes and lost it in the last 12 minutes.Ó

Freshman point guard, Tyson Patterson dished out six assists as four Mountaineers reached double digits in scoring. The players that reached that mark included Junior Braswell, Kareem Livingston, Tige Darner and Blair Adderly. Adderly led the Mountaineers for the second consecutive game in scoring with 20 points. Adderly also grabbed a team high (a career high also) 11 rebounds against the Keydets.

At Niagara, on January 4, Appalachian was not as fortunate. Niagara handed Appalachian an eight point loss by the score of 82-74. For Adderly, the game was a turning point. The sophomore who was raised in nearby Toronto, scored a career high 22 points. ÒHopefully this was a bust out game for Blair.Ó, said Mountaineer Coach Buzz Peterson of the game. ÒMaybe we need to get his parents at all of the games.Ó

Turnovers in the first half and the extremely physical play of Niagara spelled defeat for the Mountaineers. In a two minute stretch in the first half, Appalachian turned the ball over five straight times and Niagara put together an 18-0 run. ÒWe gave them an 18-0 run,Ó said Peterson, ÒWe canÕt give anyone an 18-0 run and expect to still win.Ó

A week earlier, the Mountaineers had made a trip to Albuquerque, N.M. for the Lobo Invitational. In the opening game, Appalachian lost to Ole Miss by a score of 75-63. Appalachian battled back from an early 13-4 deficit to be down by a score of 34-28 at half.

The Mountaineers gained some much needed fire power from the freshman tandem of Tyson Patterson and Terence Tyler. Patterson had 11 points and four assists while Tyler scored six. ÒTyson Patterson did an excellent job for us,Ó said Peterson ÒHe got in there and made some really nice shots.Ó

In the consolation round of the Lobo Invitational Appalachian defeated Bucknell by the score of 71-62. ÒWeÕve worked so hard for this win. It feels so good.Ó, said an elated Peterson.

Leading scorers for the Mountaineers in this contest included Braswell, with 18 points, and Darner with 14 points. The bench was also a factor for the Apps against the Bison. The reserves accounted for 20 points and 13 rebounds. Clint Crosston, a 6Õ8" forward came off the bench to score eight points and grab seven rebounds. ÒWeÕve been looking for Clint to do something like this.Ó Peterson said. Sophomore guard Ian Adams also came off the bench, scoring six points, while hitting his first three-pointer of the year. ÒWe knew he could hit that shot after seeing hit it in practice all those times.Ó, Peterson remarked.

The week before, the Mountaineers made a disastrous trip to the midwest to take on Marquette and Montana state, both within two days of each other.

On December 19, Appalachian lost to Marquette by the humiliating score of 74-37. ÒWe got whipped. They outhustled us and they outscrapped us.Ó, Peterson quipped. Appalachian hit just 3 of 16 shots from three-point land and shot 25% for the night. Braswell, who had previously been voted Southern Conference Player of the week, was held to 10 points and four assists.

Two days later, Appalachian lost to Montana State in Bozeman, Mont. by a score of 96-71. The biggest contributing factor to the loss was 21 turnovers by the Mountaineers. Leading scorers for the Mountaineers were Crosston and Darner, scoring 10 and 16 points respectively. The 25-point loss marked only the second time in ten years that Appalachian has lost two consecutive games by 25 or more points.

Before exams, the Mountaineers traveled to Athens, Ga., losing to the Bulldogs of Georgia by the score of 85-67. The first half was detrimental to AppalachianÕs cause, ÒThere were turnovers where the ball would slip through our hands. I havenÕt seen anything like it all year.Ó, said Peterson at half-time. In the first half things fell apart for the Mountaineers. Appalachian amassed 14 turnovers, shot 38% from the field and were down 49-19 by the halfÕs end.

ÒAt half-time the thing [offensively] that we talked about was to be patient.Ó Said a relieved Peterson. Apparently, the players listened and took notes. The Mountaineers outscored the Bulldogs 48-36 in the second half. Matt McMahon came off the bench to score six points hitting 2-2 from behind the three-point stripe.

The tandem of Livingston and Braswell led the Mountaineers in scoring with 21 and 22 points respectively. For Livingston, who originally hails from Marietta, Ga., this was a homecoming of sorts. ÒI was inspired by BraswellÕs playÓ said Coach Peterson.

On December 5, Appalachian mauled the Spartans of UNC-Greensboro by a score of 82-56. ÒI am real pleased with the effort tonight.Ó said Peterson, after the yearsÕ first victory over a Division I team. ÒTonight, we put the hard work with the execution and it showed.Ó

Due to the referees getting stranded in the snow on the way to game, the contest was delayed an hour and 20 minutes. ÒI went into the locker room and I told the guys that if it gets to be about eight oÕclock, weÕll probably call this game off.Ó, said Peterson of the game. ÒI walked in there [the locker room] and told them we were going to practice, every head dropped.Ó recalled Peterson.

For the second straight game, senior guard Junior Braswell led the Mountaineers in scoring with 26 points ÒJunior just keeps on amazing me every game.Ó said Peterson speaking of BraswellsÕ play. Along with the scoring, Braswell fueled the team, pumping in seven assists.

In his best performance of the year, reserve forward Jeremy Blocker shot 100% percent from the floor, and equaled the task at the free throw line. ÒJeremy did a great job for us. He was very active, I canÕt believe he didnÕt miss a shot.Ó, said coach Peterson. The numbers on Blocker for the night were ten points and four rebounds.

After battling UNCG again on Wednesday the Apps will return to conference play this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Western Carolina. The Catamounts should prove to be quite a challenge for the Mountaineers.

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Lady Apps lose first conference game in almost two years
Danny Sink
Kathy Beam
Staff Writers

The Lady Mountaineers have been experiencing the no rest for the weary syndrome over the past few weeks. While most of us were sitting at home with a bowl of chips and a cold beverage the Mountaineers were playing ball.

For starters, while Appalachian students were getting geared up for exams, the Lady Mountaineers were getting ready for the Lady Rebel Classic down in Oxford, Miss. (Dec. 6-7).

Meredith Thompson scored 16 points, leading the way as the Lady Apps started their tournament off with a bang, putting the clamps on Mississippi Valley with a 73-41 win.

The second game of the tournament was a barn burner as the women of Ole Miss defeated the Lady Moutaineers by a score of 86-84. For the Mountaineers, turnovers proved to be one of the main contributing factors to the loss. Appalachian turned the ball over 24 times while Ole Miss turned the ball over a mere nine times. Leading all scorers in the game was Mellissa Davis with 24 points, hitting on three of five from the three-point stripe.

The next game was a 75-59 loss at the hands of the Campbell Lady Camels in Buies Creeek a week and a half later. At the half the Apps were only down by four points and were hanging in there, but the second half put to rest any thoughts of a comeback as the Camels buried the Apps en route to a 16-point win.

In the USF Holiday Classic on the 21st of and 22nd of December, four players reached double digits in scoring as Appalachian put up a ten point victory against Missouri-Kansas CI. Davis led all scorers with 16 points.

In the second round of the USF Holiday Tournament, Meredith Thompson paced the Apps with 14 points as Appalachian posted a five point win against Northeast Louisiana 52-47.

The Ladies began the New Year on a positive note as they defeated the Spartans of UNC-Greensboro by a score of 71-57. The Mountaineers looked to be in good form against the Spartans as the led by six at the half and opened up to as much as a 25 point lead in the second period before finally taking the win. 11 players scored in this contest.

Coming into the first conference game of the year against Western Carolina the Mountaineers had to feel good. The last 26 times these two teams met ASU had came out on top, not to mention the Apps 17-game conference winning streak dating back to February of 1995.

That confidence soon turned to concern for the Apps as the Catamounts went on 10-0 run late in the second half to cut the Mountaineer lead to two. A technical foul against back up center Tiana Tate with 4:22 left allowed WCU to turn a two-point deficit into a two-point lead and never look back.

Prior to that the AppsÕ starting center Andrea Hinton fouled out. She was quickly joined on the bench by Tate and Davis who also picked up their fifth fouls and were forced to sit.

One of the few bright spots in the game for Appalachian was the play of forward Merideth Thompson. The senior had a double-double in the game picking up 15 points and 14 rebounds for the losing cause.

Coach Linda Robinson of Appalachian State said that the loss was disappointing, not necessarily because it was a loss, but how they lost. The Mountineers had a 15-point lead with 9:52 left in the game, and let the Catamounts come back for the win.

The 70-72 loss followed a trend of Appalachian losing close games so far this season with the overtime loss to Georgia Tech and the two point drop to Ole Miss, which dropped the Lady MountaineerÕs record to 6-5 over all and 0-1 in the conference.

At this point, Coach Robinson wanted to have a better record, but is excited about getting back on track with the New Year. With all the students returning and classes starting again, Coach Robinson said sheÕs looking forward to the players (who have been back since the 29th of December) getting back to normal campus life.

The season goes into full swing with a game against Virginia Tech at home on the 8th, a team which Robinson said has Òbeen sporadic.Ó The Mountaineers will face Furman after that on the 11th at home.

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App grapplers shutout in Michigan over break
David Jackson
Staff Writer

While many of us were opening presents Christmas morning and sampling GrandmaÕs selection of holiday treats, the Appalachian State University wrestling squad was preparing for a busy holiday tournament schedule.

The Mountaineer grapplers first stop on the post-Christmas trip was Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. for the Orange Bowl Sunshine Open. Sophomore Rob Daly and juniors Matt Kim, Tony Hairston, and Erik Smith gave solid performances on the mat to lead the AppsÕ to a 10th place finish in the 20 team tournament.

After a brief stop-over in Boone, the Mountaineers tracked northward to Mt. Pleasant, Mich., for the Central Michigan Duals. National powerhouses like Missouri and Wisconsin proved to be too much for the AppsÕ as they posted a 0-4 record in the day long meet, also falling to Harvard and, tournament host, Central Michigan. The Tigers of Missouri handed the Mountaineers their first ever shut-out, blanking them 39-0. It was the first time in 822 dual matches dating back to the inaugural 1932-33 season that an Appalachian squad failed to score points in a dual match competition. Overall in the tournament, the AppsÕ were outscored 138-16 over four matches.

However the results compiled from Central Michigan donÕt shed light on the fact that the team was without returning NCAA Tournament qualifiers Derek Strobel and Hairston, who were both sidelined due to injury. Appalachian was also without the services of Smith, a newcomer to the squad who transferred in from Penn State.

The Mountaineer grapplers get back to the mat Saturday night as they host the Camels of Campbell University in Varsity Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. Over the years, the AppsÕ have dominated Campbell, posting an overall record of 11-1 against the Camels which includes wins for Appalachian in the seven previous meetings leading up to SaturdayÕs showdown. With a Mountaineer victory, head coach Paul Mance will move into a tie with R.W. ÒRedÓ Watkins for all-time wins as head coach at the school. ManceÕs dual match record currently stands at 239-122-8.

After SaturdayÕs match with Campbell, the Mountaineers then gear up for the Wolfpack Duals at N.C. State University in Raleigh, a week from Saturday. Southern Conference action begins for the AppsÕ on January 25th at the Mocs of Tennessee-Chattanooga travel to Boone. Since 1986, Appalachian and UTC have been responsible for claiming every Southern Conference title, with the Mocs winning eight crowns and the Mountaineers claming the past two. Once again, this match will showcase the top two squads in the conference.

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