Appalachian State Outlasts Men's Basketball

VIDEO: Postgame interview with Coach Young

PHOTO GALLERY: Military Appreciation Day at Hanner Fieldhouse

FINAL STATS (PDF)

STATESBORO, Ga. – Appalachian State forward Nathan Healy collected 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the Mountaineers did not miss a shot in the extra period to take a 91-86 Southern Conference men's basketball victory over Georgia Southern in overtime at Hanner Fieldhouse Thursday night.

ASU hit all three of their field goal attempts and went 12-for-12 from the charity stripe in the extra session. With the Mountaineers trailing by a point, Jay Canty drilled two free throws with 18.7 seconds left to give the Apps the lead. After C.J. Reed missed a runner for the Eagles, Jamaal Trice was fouled and made a pair. The Eagles turned it over, and Healy netted two more from the foul line with eight seconds left to ice the game.

The charity stripe was not as kind to Appalachian State at the end of regulation as the Mountaineers went 0-for-4 inside the last 48 seconds, and Georgia Southern overcame a five-point deficit to force overtime. Marvin Baynham made 1-of-2 from the foul line with 3.7 seconds left to tie the game 73-73.

“Our kids showed a lot of character tonight,” said Head Coach C.Y. Young, “I’m really proud of the way they fought. We’ve got to understand that it is a game of inches and we have to execute a little better and be a little tighter with the ball early so we don’t get into pressure situations down the stretch. It was a nail-biter down the stretch, but I feel like we lost the game in the final five minutes of the first half. We had some open looks that could have put us up by 15 or 16, but they didn’t fall, which allowed them to come back in the second half.”

Eric Ferguson led Georgia Southern (10-14, 4-7 SoCon) with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Reed finished with 19 points and five assists. Cleon Roberts scored 17, and Baynham finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Healy was one of five scorers in double figures for the Mountaineers (10-12, 6-5 SoCon). Tab Hamilton netted 16 points, and Canty finished with 15 points and eight rebounds. Mike Neal posted 13 points and nine rebounds, and Tevin Baskin had 12 points and five boards.

The Mountaineers were held in check through the first half, shooting just 40 percent from the field. GSU led by as many as 11 in the opening period and took a 10-point advantage into the locker room at halftime. Ferguson scored 11 points in the first half while Baynham tallied six boards in the opening frame.

Appalachian State missed their first three shots from the field, but responded by making five-straight buckets to cut the lead to three points at the first media timeout of the second half. GSU stretched the lead back to seven points before another Mountaineer run tied the game with just 8:38 remaining.

The teams stayed close over the next four minutes until Healy gave the Apps their largest lead at 64-59 with a layup with 4:18 left. A 3-pointer by Roberts with 3:36 left and made it a two-point game.

ASU added points on their next two possessions to stretch the lead back to 69-62 with two and a half minutes remaining. Back-to-back fast break layups brought the Eagles within one, and in the final minute, GSU eradicated the five-point ASU lead, allowing Baynham to force overtime.

The Eagles close their three-game homestand on Saturday night on "Pack the House in Pink" night at Hanner Fieldhouse against Western Carolina. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. following the Women's Basketball game against College of Charleston which begins at 5 p.m.

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Category: Men's Basketball

Published on Thursday, 07 February 2013 22:22