MBB: App State Drops Close Game Despite Huntley’s 1,000th Point
Dec. 20, 2024
Contact: Jacob Plecker (pl*******@ap******.edu)
Box Score: Attached
DENTON, Texas – After cutting a 15-point second-half deficit down to just two points with 11 seconds to play, the App State Mountaineers (6-6, 0-1 SBC) needed to foul to extend the game. The Mountaineers fouled North Texas’ (8-3) Jasper Floyd, who hit both free throws to give the Mean Green a four-point advantage with 10 seconds to play. North Texas fouled twice in the final seconds, but App State’s comeback effort fell short in Denton on Friday as the Mean Green won 68-64.
Despite the result, CJ Huntley’s free throw at the 16:05 mark of the first half made him the 37th member of App State’s 1,000-point club. Huntley needed just six points to reach that mark and scored all six in the first four minutes of play. For the game, the fifth-year senior finished with 17 points, his sixth straight game in double figures.
App State started the game hot against North Texas, making four straight shots to open the game and five of its first seven to take an early eight-point lead. Additionally, the Mountaineers sunk seven straight free throws to open the contest and shot 81.3 percent from the line, its highest percentage of the season.
It was a well-balanced game offensively for the Mountaineers as four players reached double figures. Myles Tate led all scorers in the game with 21 and almost willed App State back into it as 19 of those came in the second half. Alonzo Dodd, who made his first start of the season on Friday, scored 10 on 3-4 shooting and recorded four assists. Over his last four games, Dodd is averaging 10 points a night.
How it Happened
In App State’s first contest against North Texas in exactly 34 years, it was App State who tallied the first score as Dior Conners found himself free from the left wing for a three. Conners’ basket was answered by a UNT three, but Huntley went flying in for an alley-oop dunk to help App State regain the lead at 5-3.
After a second Mean Green three, Huntley got loose down low again and slammed home yet another alley-oop dunk, this time getting a feed from Tate. Keeping his aggressive mindset, Huntley was fouled down low at the 16:05 mark and went 2-2 from the line to record his 1,000th point.
Following the first media break of the half, the Mountaineers turned to Jalil Beaubrun in the post for a basket which sent App State ahead by three. Then, it was Conners who was fouled in the corner on a three, sending him to the line. He nailed each freebie to put the Mountaineers up six with 14 minutes to go.
North Texas cut its deficit down to four, but Dodd sent action to the under-12 timeout with a circus three to beat the dwindling shot clock. At that point, the Mountaineers led by seven. The Mean Green scored again to trim the App State lead to five, but Huntley popped off a screen and drilled a three from the right wing to put the Mountaineers up eight at the 10-minute mark.
Another pair of Huntley free throws pushed the Mountaineers ahead again by eight, but a Brenan Lorient three brought UNT back within five by the under-eight break. Out of the timeout, the Mean Green tallied another basket, but Tate’s first points of the game pushed the Mountaineers back in front by six as play continued.
The Mean Green found their offense and turned up the defensive intensity near the end of the half, tying the contest at 26 apiece by the under-four timeout. Moulaye Sissoko and Latrell Jossell each recorded baskets to bring North Texas back in it.
Dodd’s free throws helped calm the Mountaineers down, but UNT scored each of the game’s next seven points to take a five-point halftime lead. Over the final six minutes, App State went cold, failing to convert on its final five field goals while turning the ball over three times.
App State started well but couldn’t maintain it as the first half went on as they shot just 43 percent. The Mountaineers did, however, shoot well from the free-throw line in the opening stanza, going 11-12. Huntley’s 11 first-half points paced all scorers while Conners recorded six.
A quick burst from the Mean Green helped extend their slim halftime advantage to nine points in less than two minutes to open the second half. Atin Wright scored the half’s first six points to help build a cushion. App State and Tate cut the Mean Green advantage back to six, but Rondel Walker’s basket pushed North Texas ahead by eight by the under-16 timeout.
North Texas quickly jumped ahead by a game-high 15 at the 13:12 mark, using a 13-2 run to get there. App State went cold during this stretch, tallying just six points in the first seven minutes of the second half.
Despite trailing by its largest amount, the Mountaineers’ fight began to show as they trimmed the Mean Green lead back to 10 by the 11:39 mark. A driving layup by Tate followed by a fastbreak tip-in layup by Huntley got it to that point. Beaubrun then got loose after the timeout to bring the North Texas lead down to single digits.
After a turnover by UNT, Tate found himself open and drilled a three from the right wing to make it a five-point game. North Texas scored to quiet App State, but two consecutive slick defensive plays from Dodd and Tate resulted in fastbreak scores and suddenly, it was a three-point game with 8:30 to play. Tate’s steal was his fifth of the game, giving him 10 over his last two games.
After the Mountaineers stormed back, North Texas went on a brief run to reclaim a nine-point lead at the 6:37 mark. Not done yet, App State continued to crawl back and cut its deficit back to four by the final media break. The two teams jockeyed for position over the next two minutes, but a Tate three with just over a minute left made it a three-point game.
Tate’s fourth three of the game pulled App State to within two, the closest point it had been since the first half, and the Mountaineers were forced to foul to extend the game. North Texas’ Jasper Floyd stepped to the line and hit two free throws to put the Mean Green ahead by four.
Another layup by Tate made it a two-point game with 11 seconds in regulation, giving him 21 points. Fouling again, Floyd sunk two more free throws but then fouled out on the ensuing Mountaineer possession. Needing a quick basket, App State turned to Huntley, but his shot was off the mark and the Mean Green secured a tight four-point win on their home floor.
Top Performers
In what was a balanced scoring game for App State, Myles Tate led the way with 21 points, his fourth game of the year scoring at least 20. He almost willed the Mountaineers to a win as 19 of those points came in the final frame. CJ Huntley recorded 17 points, his sixth consecutive game in double figures, and recorded his 1,000th point in the first half. Alonzo Dodd and Jalil Beaubrun each tallied 10 points in the game and combined to miss just one shot on eight attempts. Dodd also pitched in three boards, four assists and a steal in his first Mountaineer start.
Up Next
App State will next hit the floor in 2025 as it will welcome the Troy Trojans to the Holmes Center on Thursday, Jan. 2. It will be the Mountaineers’ first home contest since Dec. 3. Tipoff from Boone is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
The 2024-25 men’s basketball season is presented by Foscoe Companies.
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