January 23, 1997

Mountaineers defeat Davidson 82-66
Mike Daniels
Staff Writer

This past Monday night, Appalachian State defeated Davidson by a score of 82-66. The win snapped a two-game skid the Mountaineers had been on the week earlier, when they were defeated by Furman in Greenville, South Carolina 59-55 and by Georgia Southern in Boone, 76-75.

In the Davidson game, the leading scorer for the Mountaineers was Tige Darner with 30 points, shooting 8 of 10 from the three point line. "Clearly, Tige Darner is the story tonight," Coach Bob McKillop said after the game. "I haven't shot this well since high school," said Tige of his performance. Defensively Darner was also on his game, collecting four steals.

Davidson spent much of the night in frustration, trying to press freshman point guatd Tyson Patterson and failing to execute offensively.

"We weren't able to do the things we like to do," Mckillop said after the game. "When a team tries to press me, I really take it personally," Tyson Patterson said. "I try my best to break it any way I can." On the night, Patterson scored six points, dished out five assists and tied with Blair Adderly for a team-high five rebounds.

Two other players also made double digits in the game for the Mountaineers. Kareem Livingston had 15 points and Junior Braswell chipped in 14 points while dishing out 7 assists.

For the Mountaineers, the win over Davidson was a must going into the Marshall game on Saturday. "It was a nice momentum builder," said Braswell after the game. "We came in the game thinking we could win the game."

Two days earlier Georgia Southern defeated the Mountaineers 76-75. The story of the game was three point shooting by Georgia Southern. The Eagles managed 78.6 percent on threes for the game, hitting on 11 of 14. "They did a good job executing," said Coach Buzz Peterson after the game. "That's been our problem all year, defending the three."

Tige Darner led the Mountaineers with 19 points, hitting five three pointers. "It's definitely not a good feeling to lose," said Tige after the game. "To lose this game to them hurts a lot." Senior guard Junior Braswell also chipped in 17 points and six assists.

The game itself was marred somewhat by a questionable no-call at the end. With two seconds left on the clock Appalachian stole the inbound pass and Darner appeared to be fouled as he threw up an errant shot which didn't even touch the rim.

"I would like to see the tape; the guy grabbed my arm," said Darner. "That's why the ball was so weak in getting up there. I'm interested in seeing the tape, but that's the way it goes sometimes."

Appalachian's first conference loss came at the hands of Furman in Greenville, 59-55. The loss broke a three-game winning streak. "I'm very disappointed with tonight's effort," said Peterson of his team's performance.

Two games before the Appalachian game, Furman played the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Greenville on regional television, losing in horrid fashion. The halftime score said it all, UTC 50, Furman 12. "Probably one of the worst things for our team was seeing them on TV Thursday night," Peterson said after the game.

Leading the Mountaineers in the losing effort was Junior Braswell with 17 points and 3 assists, while Darner also chipped in ten points on the night.

"If there's anyone out there who should be tired, it's Junior, he's the one out there trying to get everyone fired up," said Peterson.

The leading rebounder for the Mountaineers was Blair Adderly with eight rebounds.

Appalachian State's record is now at eight wins and nine losses.

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Lady Mountaineers rebound against Thundering Herd
Danny Sink
Staff Writer

At the beginning of this season many people looked for the Lady Mountaineers to duplicate their championship season of a year ago. After a disappointing loss to Western Carolina, questions began to rise as to whether or not this team was as good as last year's squad. The questions continued for the Mountaineers after they dropped another conference game to Davidson 60-58 and a road game to South Carolina 76-63 before defeating Marshall by a score of 71-66 last week.

This past Saturday, the Lady Mountaineers defeated the Thundering Herd of Marshall. Marshall, who also came into the game at 8-7, was another team who had come into this season with a lot of high expectations. Marshall was picked as the preseason favorite to win the Southern Conference in both the writers and the coaches polls.

The Herd flexed their outside shooting muscle in the first half, hitting five of seven from beyond the three point arc. The lead was traded back and forth several times in the first period before Marshall finished the half with a flurry and took a six point advantage into the locker room; leading 37-31.

Marshall was able to hold its lead into the second half until Appalachian began its run with about eight minutes left in the game. Down by eight, with time starting to become a factor, Davis pulled up and knocked down a big three-pointer to cut the Herd's lead to five and put a spark back in the App offense.

On Appalachian's next possession, Davis was able to drive down the court for an easy layup. She then followed with a three-pointer tying the game at 61. Thompson gave the Mountaineers the lead permanently with another three-pointer that gave the Apps a 66-63 advantage with under five minutes to go. With only seconds left in the game, Erica Mathies sealed the victory with two critical free throws to push the lead to five, and secure the 71-66 win.

The victory could not have come at a better time for the Mountaineers as they pulled their conference record back to .500 at 2-2.

Meredith Thompson led the Mountaineers with 20 points and eight rebounds in one of her best games. Andreia Hinton also came up big for Appalachian, cashing in on a double-double, scoring 18 points and snagging 14 rebounds for the winning cause. "I thought she was a board monster on defense." said Appalachian Coach Linda Robinson. "She got into some jumping contests with some people her size and taller, and she out-wanted the basketball."

In the second half, the Lady Mountaineers were riding the crest of an emotional high. "We came out hyped and ready to go," said Robinson after the game. "Two more times in the game we went down six to eight points, and our kids had the look of wanting to win and stepped up."

The biggest thing that came out of the Marshall win was the momentum the lady Mountaineers got. It was evident how confident the Mountaineers were during the warm-ups for the game against ETSU this past Monday, as they destroyed their conference rival handily by a score of 92-61.

At half-time, the Mountaineers held a 21-point advantage, and by the end of the game that was pushed up by another 10, as the Mountaineers coasted to the 31 point victory.

The Mountaineers had an all-around great game, finishing with four different players in double digits. Among these players were Meredith Thompson turning in an impressive 15 points.

Coming off the bench to give the Mountaineers an extra spark was Tiffany Chappell with 14. "Tiffany Chappell played particularly well." said Robinson, "I thought she made excellent decisions."

Also coming up big for the Apps were their two post players under the basket, Tiana Tate with13 points and Andreia Hinton with 10 points."I thought that Tiana made some power big woman moves tonight." said Robinson.

And the always potent Melissa Davis also came up with a great overall game scoring 9 points, pulling down 8 rebounds, and dishing out 5 assists. Coming up with some big minutes off of the bench was Leigh Jones, knocking down three shots from behind the arch to add nine points to the ETSU pounding.

Against Davidson, the Mountaineers battled hard in the first half, posting an eight point lead at the 10:00 mark. With only 7:30 left in the first half the Apps had pushed their lead to 13.

It was looking as though the Mountaineers might be able to put the Wildcats away for good, but Davidson had none of it. In the final 6:30 of the half, the Wildcats mounted an impressive 15-8 charge to cut the Appalachian lead to five.

In the second half, the score began to see-saw back and forth as both teams went at it hard. With only four minutes left in the game, App was up by the slimmest of margins at 58-57. The lead would not last, as Carolyn Kirsh pulled up for a jumper that gave the Wildcats a one-point advantage. A foul committed by Appalachian's Melissa Davis gave the Wildcats a two-point lead.

With the final seconds of the game winding down, Appalachian had the ball, facing a two-point deficit. The ball went to the veteran Meredith Thompson who drove the lane and was fouled with only one second left on the clock.

Unfortunately for the Apps, Davis' first free throw clanked off the rim and the tip off the intentional miss on the second shot just wasn't there. The final score was Davidson 60, Appalachian 58.

On January 15, the bad luck continued for the ladies on their trip to South Carolina. Their last non-conference game of the regular season resulted in another loss. The Gamecocks stuck it to the Apps again, handing them a 76-63 loss that dropped their record to 8-7.

The 10-7 Lady Mountaineers are now coming up on a tough test as they go on the road against Georgia Southern on the 25th and Tennessee-Chattanooga on the 27th.

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Coakley leads Mountaineers in awards again
Mike Daniels
Staff Writer

Dexter Coakley, Appalachian State's all-world, all-everything linebacker has all but officially received that title from the national media this off-season. Coakley again managed to top the team in another category, postseason honors.

The senior from Mt. Pleasant, S.C. was again named by The Sports Network as the Buck Buchanan I-AA National Defensive Player of the Year. Coakley was the first-ever recipient of this award last year as a junior as well.

Along with this prestigious award Coakley was also named to five different All-American first teams. Coakley received this honor from The Sports Network, Don Hansen's Football Gazette, the American Football Coaches Association, the Associated Press and Walter Camp's I-AA team. Plus, Coakley earned himself a spot in the Blue/Gray Classic on Christmas Day in which he recorded 16 tackles and made a name for himself before a national television audience.

However, Coakley was not the only Mountaineer to receive All-American honors this off-season. Senior center Scott Kadlub, who also holds several school records, was also named to several All-American teams, including Don Hansen's Football Gazette, to which he was named first team. Kadlub also received second team honors from The Sports Network and The Associated Press.

Kadlub's fellow offensive linemate Chad Groover also picked up some awards. The senior tackle from Winston-Salem was a second team Sports Network All-American and an honorable mention by Don Hansen's Football Gazette.

Also an honorable mention by Don Hansen's Football Gazette was left guard Shawn Clark. The junior from Charleston, W.V. was also named a third team All-American by The Associated Press.

Other Mountaineers picking up All-American honors included seniors Damon Scott, Jay Sutton and Joe DiBernardo, who were all named by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. Scott, ASU's second all-time leading rusher was also named a third team All-American by The Sports Network.

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Mance breaks record with win over Eagles
David Jackson
Staff Writer

With the Southern Conference season just around the corner, the Appalachian wrestling team used Tuesday night's match with Carson-Newman as a final tune-up before league play begins. The Mountaineers came away with a 27-16 win over the Eagles, who were ranked 14th in the NCAA Division II Wrestling poll coming into the match.

The Mountaineers (3-7 in dual match play), still without the services of 1996 NCAA qualifier Tony Hairiston, forfeited the 118 lb. weight class and found themselves in 6-0 hole to start the match.

At the 126 lb. weight class, Eagles senior Nathan Hand used a reversal to forge ahead of Appalachian freshman David Hopper, defeating him 7-4. Hand, up 5-4 after the reversal with less than a minute remaining in the match, recorded a take-down that pushed the score to 7-4. The decision by Hand extended the Eagles lead to 9-0.

Mountaineer freshman Jeremy Hart recorded his seventh pin of the season by pinning Carson-Newman sophomore Wayne McGaffin at the 3:47 mark of the 134 lb. match. The win by Hart cut the Carson Newman lead to 9-6.

At 142, sophomore Rob Daly used a third-period scoring spurt to win by decision over Tommy Bartolotta, 10-5, bringing the Mountaineers back even at 9-9. Daly recorded three takedowns during the final period.

Eagle junior Brent Dail pushed Carson-Newman back ahead 12-9 by defeating Ronny Huitt by a 4-3 decision at 150. Dail recorded two near-fall points during the final period to overcome a 3-2 lead by Huitt.

Appalachian newcomer Pat McGuire defeated Kris Urquhart at 158, knotting the score at 12-12. McGuire, a transfer from North Carolina, and Urquhart ended the third period tied at 2-2 but McGuire received a one point riding time bonus to give him the 3-2 decision.

At 167, Junior Carl Barton put the Mountaineers back ahead 15-12 as he defeated Eagle freshman Andy Yoerger by a 12-6 decision. Barton now stands at 3-0 in dual competition at 167.

Appalachian received insurance as 1996 NCAA qualifier Eddy Clark took the 177 weight class by forfeit, giving the Mountaineers a 21-12 advantage heading into the final two matches.

At 190, Bill Sedgwick kept the Eagles in contention with an 18-9 major decision victory over Earl Roland. The four-point win cut the Appalachian lead to 21-16.

The heavyweight match would determine the outcome. Mountaineer junior Matt Kim sealed the victory for Appalachian by pinning Wayne McCallie at the 6:00 mark. The pin gave the Mountaineers a 27-16 victory.

"We wrestled well tonight," said Mountaineer Head Coach Paul Mance. "Carson-Newman has a very good team and I figured it would be a 5,6, or 7 point match coming into this one."

On Saturday's conference opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga, Mance added: "We need to wrestle better and come out more fired up than we did tonight. We need to come at them with more intensity and come out on the mat knowing that we are going to win."

Over the holiday weekend, the App Grapplers posted a 1-3 showing in the Wolfpack Duals in Raleigh. With the Mountaineers only victory coming against Delaware State 43-6, Mance became the all-time winningest coach in the school's history. The win boosted the 21-year coach's record to 241-129-8, putting him one victory ahead of Appalachian Athletic Hall of Fame member R.W. "Red" Watkins. Watkins compiled a 240-18 mark in 25 years as head coach, spanning from the inaugural 1933 season to his retirement in 1959.

On reaching the Mountaineer coaching milestone, Mance added: "I am very grateful to have followed (Red) Watkins. He is the man who built this program into what it is today. When you have been in one place as long as I have you can do just about anything." Mance was honored for his achievement during Tuesday's match with Carson-Newman.

Appalachian returns to the mat Saturday as they open Southern Conference action against Tennessee-Chattanooga. The first match is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. at Varsity Gym.

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