Appalachian State Avenges Earlier Loss
2/14/2010 2:08:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State shot 70 percent or better from the field for most of the game and scored 54 points in the second half to take a 111-83 win at the Holmes Center. Sophomore Colby Wohlleb (Boca Raton, Fla.) tied his career-best points total with 22 and had five rebounds to lead the Eagles in both statistical categories.
Mountaineer Donald Sims led all scorers with 30 points off 11-14 shooting from the field and three other ASU players scored in double figures. Antonio Hanson (Ft. Worth, Texas) and Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively, for Georgia Southern.
"We got out-played tonight," said Eagles Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young. "We got out-everything-ed tonight. Our two best defenders were in foul trouble and that really hurt us in the paint. From the moment we headed out into bad weather conditions yesterday to the end of the game, nothing went our way, but we have to put this one behind us and scrap it out. Thankfully, we'll be back in Hanner Fieldhouse for our next two games and we need to defend our home court."
ASU shot 77.8 percent from the field in the first half and cooled down only slightly to finish at 67.2 percent for the game. The Mountaineers also had a significant advantage on the front line with a 39-17 margin on the boards and at the free throw line, converting 28 times on 32 trips. Georgia Southern made 12 of 21 from the line.
The Mountaineers clamped down on the Eagles' scorers and offensive possessions in the second half, spinning a modest six-point lead, 68-62, into 14 points within three minutes. During that period, ASU posted a 13-3 run, limiting Georgia Southern to only three free throws, for an 81-65 score. Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) hit back-to-back baskets, a jumper and a trey, to offset a six points by Sims and two more Mountaineer free throws.
Wohlleb and Drayton each scored baskets to counter a three by Sims and layup by Butts, but GSU did not hit another basket for three minutes while Appalachian State added 11 to its total. Tyler Troupe (Gallatin, Tenn.) scored his first points at the 4:28 mark to break the drought. Hanson added two baskets to bring his scoring total to 15 points. Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) and Johntavious Rucker (Decatur, Ga.), big defensive factors in the Eagles' win over the Mountaineers in Hanner Fieldhouse last month, were hindered by foul trouble early in the second half.
In the first half, the Eagles came out shooting with Wohlleb starting the scoring with a quick trey and accounting for seven of the Eagles first nine points. Spencer added four points while Powers contributed five to the offensive production in the first six minutes. Wohlleb hit two straight second treys as GSU took a 24-14 lead at the 14:11 mark and converted the rare four-point play, 25-14, GSU.
Down by 10 at the 12:26 mark of the first half, 20-30, the Mountaineers took over the next five minutes with a 19-4 run to take a five-point lead, 39-34. Sims began the App. State scoring with five points and three different Mountaineers each adding a basket. Eight additional points came from the free throw line.
Wohlleb hit his fourth trey of the half to pull GSU back within two, 37-39, with the two teams trading field goals over the next three minutes of action. Sims would score six points in a three and a half minute span with Ryann Abraham and Wright adding field goals to take a 53-47 lead with 2:10 left in the half.
Drayton pulled up for a jumper on the fast break and Hanson nailed a three off an ASU turnover for a one-point App. State margin, 53-52, with 92 seconds before the break. Wright added to the Mountaineer lead with a three and Kellen Brand turned an Eagle miscue into a fastbreak basket, 57-52, ASU. With just a second left on the clock, Powers had a tip-in goal to put the Eagles within three, 54-57.
In its best first-half shooting performance of the year, Georgia Southern was 20-34 for 58.8 percent and scored 54 points, its best since 58 points in the first half in the season opener vs. Reinhardt. Wohlleb scored 19 of his 22 points in the first half. The sophomore shot 6-7 from the field with four three-point baskets and added three points from the line.
Georgia Southern falls to 6-20, 3-10 in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State improves to 16-10, 10-4. The Eagles return home to Hanner Fieldhouse for a 7 p.m. game against Furman on Wednesday, Feb. 17.
