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Hot-shooting Appalachian guns down Western Carolina
Appalachian State shot 64.2 percent from the floor en route to a 100-91 Southern Conference men’s basketball victory over Western Carolina on Jan. 15 at the Holmes Center in Boone.
The Mountaineers spent much of the night at the free throw line where they were 29 of 42 while the Catamounts went 13 of 17.
Three ASU players delighted the home crowd of 3,579 by scoring 20 or more points. Donte Minter led the way with 22 while Davis Bowne and Kellen Brand both had 20. Demetrius Scott added 16.
Western’s Nick Aldridge had a big night with 31 points and nine rebounds. Arnold Gore pumped in 23 points, and Antonio Russell had 18.
Western Carolina’s Nick Aldridge scored 31 points and pulled down nine rebounds in last week’s 100-91 loss at Appalachian State. – Photo by Mark Haskett
A three-pointer by Aldridge gave the Cats a 3-2 edge 29 seconds into the game, but that was their only lead of the night.
Jeremy Clayton’s layup put the Mounties ahead to stay, 4-3, with 19:17 on the clock.
WCU stayed close and trailed just 19-18 after Gore’s foul shot at the 12:23 mark.
Brand’s nine points fueled a 16-2 run for a 35-20 ASU advantage after Bowne’s tip-in with 7:59 on the clock.
The margin reached 50-32 on Clayton’s dunk at the 2:13 mark and was 53-36 at halftime.
The game’s biggest lead was 71-49 on Bowne’s jumper with 13:47 remaining.
The Cats slowly chipped away in the last four minutes, but the closest they came was 98-89 on Gore’s tip-in with 49 seconds to play.
Nathan Cranford was fouled one second later and hit both free throws putting his team at the century mark.
Western warmed up from the floor in the second half by hitting 54.1 percent and finished the game at 45.3 percent.
Clayton’s 12 rebounds helped the Mounties to a 38-33 advantage on the boards.
ASU committed 14 turnovers, and the Cats had 12.
Completing the WCU scoring were Brandon Giles with seven, Jake Robinson with six, Eric Wilson with four and Negus McKenna with two.
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