Tag Archives: Women’s Basketball

Samford buzzer-beats Appalachian…again

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Samford’s Jazmine Martin nailed a three pointer with three tenths of a second on the clock to beat Appalachian on Monday night in Boone. It was second time this season that Appalachian had lost to the Bulldogs on a last second shot. In both instances, Appalachian connected on their final possession to tie the game. In the game from earlier this season, Samford hit a running layup, and this time around, Martin’s three pointer came from the baseline and rattled in.

The game began in an odd fashion, with one official calling in sick just moments before tip-off as the game started with two officials. The two officials who began the game went on to call three seconds in the lane on both teams in the first half. They also called twelve fouls on Appalachian while only calling six on Samford in the first half. Samford would knock down eleven of their twelve free throws in the first half. In the second half, the foul totals were equally inconsistent, as Samford was whistled for five fouls while Appalachian was called for ten. Samford would hit eleven of thirteen free throws in the second half. So, for the game, Appalachian was called for twice as many fouls, that led to Samford shooting ten more free throws, and scoring thirteen more points than Appalachian on the line for the game. Over a third of the Samford points (22 of 63) came on the foul line.

The result keeps Appalachian solidly as the fourth seed in the SoCon Tourney, but also caps off an unspectacular 13-7 conference record. The fourth seed still provides Appalachian a bye, and will face off against Charleston on Saturday at 2:15pm at Kimmel Arena on the campus of UNC-Asheville.

 

Women’s Basketball 77 UNC-Greensboro 46

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If Appalachian had any lingering effects from their loss on Monday at Elon, they let them all loose on Greensboro. The Mountaineers never trailed in this game, and raced out to a sixteen point lead at halftime over the Spartans. The Mountaineers eventually led by as many as thirty five points in the second half before closing out the game with a twenty-nine point win. Greensboro may have still had some ill effects from their food poisoning from over the weekend.

Appalachian was led by three players in doubles figures with Maryah Sydnor scoring 18 points,  and Anna Freeman and Courtney Freeman adding 13 points each. Anna Freeman secured 11 rebounds while Kelsey Sharkey pulled down 10 rebounds. The Mountaineers bested the Spartans in every statistical category, outside of free throw attempts. Somehow the Spartans only committed five fouls the entire game. The Mountaineers hit 52% from the field, and hit more threes (5), than they did free throws (4).

Appalachian is now a full game ahead of Elon, with both teams having tough tests remaining. Appalachian hosts Chattanooga and Samford this weekend while Elon has Davidson remaining on their schedule. If the Mountaineers want the third seed, they are going to have to win at least one of their remaining games to feel good about themselves. The third seed would put Appalachian on the same side of the bracket as Davidson, who they cannot seem to beat. If the Mountaineers slip to the fourth seed, they would find themselves on the same side as Chattanooga.

Women’s Basketball 74 Charleston 65

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Appalachian has played some of its best defense in the last week or so, and they will need another effort like the last few games to hold off Charleston. The Cougars are a very interesting team this season. After two years of being well below average, the Cougars have found some momentum and find themselves in sixth place in the SoCon. Charleston sits only a half game out of fifth place Samford, which would put them in great position in the tournament if they could get there. The top five seeds would have to play one fewer game to get to the conference final. Equally as interesting, if the Cougars finish 6th, which is most likely, they would potentially meet the third seed in the quarterfinals, which right now, would be Appalachian. The thought that these two teams could meet again in ten days makes this matchup even more intriguing.

In the first matchup of the season, Appalachian held on for an eight point win on the road, just a little over a month ago. Charleston was dominate on the offensive glass, with 25 for the game, something that has been a problem for Appalachian all season. Charleston only hit four of their thirty three point attempts and were 11/25 from the free throw line. Conversely, it was a game where Appalachian was successful shooting from long range, hitting six three pointers. Both shooting stats where the exact opposite of how both teams had played prior to their game. Add that Charleston has played well of late, and you have an opportunity for an upset here. Appalachian has only lost one home game this season, but have always been good for losing one game they should not have at home in the past. If Charleston can hit a few threes early it will give Appalachian a run for their money.

Postgame:

Even thought the final margin was nine points, Appalachian led by as many as nineteen points in the late second half while cruising to their eighteenth win of the season. Charleston battle with the Mountaineers early in a very physical contest that eventually took a toll on the Cougars. Forty-five fouls were called in the game, but Charleston’s key players took a bigger hit than did the Mountaineers. Appalachian was able to build its lead late in the second half, and was never really threatened for the remainder of the game.

The story of the game, and of the past couple weeks is the play of Kelsey Sharkey. She has shown more offensive skill recently than she has in her career. Sharkey takes high percantage shots, and has played to her strengths just about as well as Mountaineer. Against Charleston, Sharkey scored fourteen points and grabbed fourteen rebounds, while adding five blocks and three steals. Anna Freeman continued her run of strong defensive play. Anna has put up a double-double in four straight games. Her line was 18 points, 18 rebounds, 5 blocks and 5 assists. Anna has blocked 12 Cougar shots in two games this season, and has 13 of her 55 blocked shots this season in her last three games.

Women’s Basketball 63 Western Carolina 32

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One way to look at this game, is that Appalachian did a great job of playing defense and holding Western to only 32 points. Otherwise, Appalachian was fortunate that they had one of their worst offensive nights against one of the worst teams in the conference. Considering the Mountaineers only gave up 50 to Wofford on Saturday, you have to like where this team is headed. According to Darcie Vincent, Appalachian could have “scored a 100 with all of those missed layups.” That is vintage Darcie, always urging her team to play better, and that there is always room for improvement. Eventually this kind of talk may fall on deaf ears, but we are certainly a fan of giving 100% on every given night.

Western was awful on a special level. The Catamounts shot 11/52 for the night, good enough for 21%. That number is what Western had to improve to, as much of the second half, the Catamounts were shooting in the teens. The Cats somehow managed to hit two three pointers – of their nineteen attempts. Eight of their thirty-two points came on the free throw line. That one fourth of their points, on the free throw line. Usually, that is a good thing, but not when you are held under a point a minute. Western actually had two players score six points, and eleven of their players scored. Usually when eleven players score in a game, its a good thing, but not so for Western Carolina tonight.

Several Mountaineers turned out big games. As per usual, Anna Freeman was the leader in several categories, but also outhustled basically the entire Catamount team. Anna finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 blocks. Western Carolina only had one block. Maryah Sydnor took home the honors of the game’s leading scorer with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Kelsey Sharkey continues her solid play, scoring 8 points, but adding 12 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Courtney Freeman rounded out the double digit scorers with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Next up for the Mountaineers is Charleston on Wednesday, part of a doubleheader with the men playing the Citadel. The Cougars have been hot recently, just beating Davidson last week and Samford on Monday night.

Women’s Basketball 77 Wofford 50

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The Mountaineer women will face Wofford in the annual Play4Kay game for cancer research. Wofford is 0-5 on the road this season in conference play despite taking Appalachian to two overtimes earler this season. Wofford has yet to beat an Appalachian team coached by Darcie Vincent despite several close calls over the years. The Mountaineers have won eleven in a row in the series and really needs a win to keep pressure on the teams in front of them in the conference standings.

Chattanooga 14-1 .933 8-0 6-1 0-0 W11 21-3 .875 11-0 9-3 1-0 W11
Davidson 11-2 .846 5-2 6-0 0-0 L1 14-9 .609 6-2 7-6 1-1 L1
Appalachian State 9-4 .692 5-1 4-3 0-0 W1 15-6 .714 7-1 6-5 2-0 W1
Elon 9-5 .643 6-1 3-4 0-0 L2 12-11 .522 9-2 3-9 0-0 L2
Samford 9-6 .600 6-2 3-4 0-0 W1 12-12 .500 8-3 4-9 0-0 W1

Postgame:

This game was never in reach for Wofford. Appalachian jumped out to leads of 8-0, 15-5, and 29-14 before leading by fifteen points at halftime. Appalachian extended that lead throughout the second half en route to a 27 point victory, one where Appalachian actively pursued scoring on their last possession of the game. Anna Freeman hit a layup at the end of the shot clock, with two seconds remaining in the game to make the final score 77-50.

In a game where Appalachian dominated from start to finish, the Mountaineers hit the glass for the highest rebounding margin of the season, yet still seem to give up plenty of offensive rebounds. The Mountaineers led the battle of the boards 51-37, but nearly half of Wofford’s boards were on the offensive glass. This has been a problem for Appalachian all season long, and there does not seem to be a cure in the near future.

Wofford had problems hitting shots all game long. The Terriers only shot 28.3% from the field, 17.6% from behind the arc, and only 50% from the free throw line. In all, Appalachian made thirteen more made field goals than Wofford, shooting just under 50% for the game while also hitting fifteen of their twenty free throws.

Four Mountaineers scored in double figures, led as always by Anna Freeman, who scored 19 points and secured her second straight double-double, and third in her last five games. Anna now has six double-doubles on the season, this one no doubt being one her best with 15 rebounds. Maryah Sydnor finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Raven Gary scored 10 points and added five assists, without recording a turnover. Courtney Freeman finished with 11 points.

Appalachian Men & Women Sweep Furman

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Women’s:

Appalachian needs to get respond quickly to its first home loss of the season. The best way to do that might be by playing the Furman Paladins. Surprisingly, Furman has won two games in a row over Western Carolina and Samford, and has been playing a bunch of close games of late. Furman only lost by three to conference leading Chattanooga, which represents their only loss in their past five games. Appalachian made rather easy work of the Paladins earlier this season in a fourteen point win. Furman (10-12, 6-7) is playing for seeding down the stretch. They are only 2.5 games behind Appalachian and 1.5 games behind fifth place Samford. If they could finish around 10-10 in conference play, that could sneak them into the sixth seed, and perhaps into the fifth seed, depending on Samford and other tiebreakers.

Appalachian is a much more skilled team than Furman, and I fully expect the Mountaineers to respond to their poor performance on Saturday. Furman is always a game team, and they beat Appalachian two years ago in Boone in one of the final homes games of the season. The game had no impact on conference standings, but it was a gloomy loss.

Postgame:

It was a big night for the stars of the women’s team. Appalachian had to fight to keep Furman at bay for the entire game, but their efforts were good enough for a ten point win. Anna Freeman got behind the defense for several easy layups that led to her shooting 9/15 from the field for 24 points. Anna also was big on the glass, pulling down 12 rebounds. Maryah Sydnor was also effective scoring 19 points and Kelsey Sharkey continued her strong play with 10 points and seven rebounds.

As a team, Appalachian only attempted three shots from behind the arc, but went to the free throw line often. The Mountaineers were 19/25 from the line, outscoring Furman by twelve points at the charity stripe. Appalachian also outrebounded Furman by nine and actually hit the offensive boards for one of the first times all season. The Mountaineers had been getting killed on the offensive glass, but grabbed eleven on Monday evening. Next up for the Mountaineers is Wofford on Saturday for the annual Play4Kay charity game.

C-Note: Anna Freeman scored her 1700th point in the first half, and her 24 points for the game took her to 1,710 points for her career. Anna grabbed her 900th rebound three games ago against Georgia Southern and currently has 918 career rebounds.

Men:

Appalachian and Furman will face off for the first and only time this season in the regular season. Furman has had a rough year, but has been playing better of late as well. The Paladins(6-16, 3-8) are in the midst of a three game losing streak. Their three conference wins are over UNCG, Georgia Southern and Wofford, all since January 14th. The Paladins are 1-9 on the road this year overall, that only win coming at UNCG.

Colin Reddick is the only Paladin averaging in double figures at 12.9 points per game. Charlie Reddick adds 9.8 points per game and Stephen Croone adds 9.3 points per game. Both Reddick’s lead Furman in rebounding, combining for almost twelve rebounds per game. Furman is fresh off of a four game homestand and will be playing their first road game since January 24th.

Appalachian remains in contention for the fourth seed in the conference tournament. Appalachian is in a tie for fifth with Western Carolina at 6-6, sitting only a half game behind Samford, who sits at 6-5, having played one fewer game. Appalachian has already split with Western this season, and will play Samford in a couple of weeks at home. This game is one that the Mountaineers need in order to stay in contention. It is a game that should be considered a must-win, especially with a big game at Elon on Thursday looming. The remainder of the schedule for Appalachian stay in the state of North Carolina. Three home games follow the road games at Elon, and Greensboro on Sunday.

The spread has opened up at 7.5 points. Furman has covered some games recently, and that is a shaky number. If it goes higher, I will be highly tempted to take Furman.

2:13 UPDATE: Line has dropped to 6.5, which I fully expected. I believe that is a great 50/50 number. Furman is bad, but can Appalachian respond after the whooping at Davidson? We will ride the Apps.

Postgame:

Another game, another long stretch without scoring points, allowing the visiting team to get back in the game. Appalachian led by 18 points in the first half, at 34-16 with 4:13 remaining in the first half. It appeared Appalachian was going to cruise to an easy victory, until the Mountaineers decided to go to the locker room with time still remaining. Not only did Appalachian not hit a field goal in the final four minutes of the first half, they could not even get to the free throw line. They went scorless in the final minutes of the first half.

Furman pulled to within six points at halftime and slowly chipped away at the Mountaineer lead. With 1:31 to play, Furman cut the deficit to one point after hitting a three. Appalachian would outscore Furman 8-3 in the final ninety seconds to hold onto second place in the SoCon North. Chattanooga knocked off Samford to give the Bulldogs their sixth conference loss, one half game behind Appalachian and Western who are tied for second, 2,5 games behind first place Elon. Appalachian vists Elon on Thursday night, which will basically eliminate the Mountaineers from SoCon North contention if they lose.

Nathan Healy had a double-double for the Mountaineers with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Michael Obacha scored a season high 14 points, by going 6/6 from the free throw line. Obacha has been shooting 50% from the free throw line prior to the Furman game.

Appalachian fell one point shy of covering the spread in heartbreaking fashion. That is the second time this season Appalachian lost a huge lead at home with a manageable spread and lost the cover. The other was Georgia Southern. We expect Appalachian to be underdogs to Elon on Thursday night.

Women’s Basketball 49 Davidson 56

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Just a little over a month ago, Appalachian and Davidson played a game exactly how most fans would see it, for one half. And suddenly, Davidson figured out the Mountaineers. The Wildcats went to a zone defense, and the Mountaineers were finished. Appalachian could not get in the paint, could not hit an outside shot, and allowed Davidson to run away from them. Not only did Davidson beat Appalachian, but they created a blueprint for the rest of the conference to follow. It was not rocket science by any stretch of the imagination. Davidson took away the strengths of the Mountaineer game. Appalachian’s strengths are getting open looks close to the basket, and hitting free throws when the defense gets overly aggressive. Appalachian is not a three-point shooting team. Statistics may show they shoot a high percentage from behind the arc, but the three is not a huge part of their offensive game plan.

Davidson took advantage of their size down low. Davidson is tall, but not extremely athletic. They can frusturate you as equally as their men’s team can. The Wildcats have been rolling through the SoCon, outside of a home loss to first place Chattanooga. Part of that is due to scheduling. Davidson has played the better teams in conference pla,y all at home thus far. Of their final nine games, five of them on the road are all against conference contending teams. Davidson not only visits Appalachian on Saturday, but also faces a three games in eight days road stretch against Chattanooga, Samford and Elon.

On the other hand, Appalachian’s three conference losses are all on the road. The Mountaineers spent January in a fog after losing to Davidson. They were beating teams they were supposed to, but it was not looking very pretty. The Mountaineers are buried in fourth place in the conference, three games behind Chattanooga, and two behind second place Davidson. Since losing back to back games at Samford and Chattanooga, Appalachian has won their last two games convincingly. They set the tone with tough defense which led to easy buckets. Look for more of that against Davidson. Anna Freeman has played much better the last two games than the previous ten or so and that is what this team needs to succeed.

Postgame:

Davidson can do something to Appalachian that no other team can in the conference. Their size can completely take Appalachian out of its game. The result all but eliminates Appalachian from regular season title contention. Davidson usually does not blow people out, and scores just enough points it seems to get away with a win. To say this game was poorly officiated does not describe the level of incompetence the officials showed. Outside of having zero control of the game from the start, two of the three looked overwhelmed from the start. Davidson was called for two fouls in the first half, and ten in the second half. The issue was that Davidson was called for five of those ten second half fouls in the final eight minutes of the game. Davidson was allowed to play with an aggressiveness that the Mountaineers were not afforded.

Complaining about 0fficiating usually is not very kosher in the blogosphere, but it was valid. Outside of inconsistent foul calls, there were timeouts granted to Davidson when they did not possess the ball, plenty of travelling violations that were called jumpballs and other inconsistencies. Davidson won the game getting to foul line eleven more times than the Mountaineers in a game that played sloppily on both sides.

Maryah Sydnor scored 18 points to lead the Mountaineers while Anna Freeman added 15 points. Anna Freeman was held to a season low three rebounds and was only 5/17 from the floor, including 3/12 from behind the arc. The twelve three point attempts were the most for Freeman on the season. Up next is Furman on Monday evening, a part of a double header with the men playing the Paladins following the women’s game at 5:30. Appalachian will now play for tournament seeding for the remainder of the season. Hopefully the Mountaineers can avoid Davidson until the final, if they can get there.

Women’s Basketball 67 Georgia Southern 54

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The final does not look all that impressive, but a road conference win is just what Appalachian needed. The Mountaineers had lost three conference road games, and won another in overtime. Appalachian extended a twelve point halftime lead to twenty points late in the game. Southern finished the game on a seven point run in the final minute to make the score look more respectable, but this game was never really in doubt for Appalachian.

Appalachian was dominated on the boards in the first half, getting outrebounded 22-13 by the Eagles. The Apps responded in the second half with an eleven rebound edge to win the battle on the boards. One disturbing statistic was the turnovers. Appalachian forced Georgia Southern into 14 first half turnovers while only committing three themselves. In the second half, Appalachian committed 19 turnovers, which is enough for an entire game. That is very uncharacteristic for the Mountaineers. Finally, after hitting 6/12 threes against Elon, Appalachian went back to their old form, and went without a three point basket for the entire game. Eventually, this has to improve. With Davidson and their zone defense coming to Boone on Saturday, Appalachian is going to have to hit some. Davidson is too big for Appalachian to rely on their post play.

Anna Freeman had her second big game in a row with 18 points and 6 rebounds, leading all scorers. Maryah Sydnor added 13 points and 8 rebounds. Courtney Freeman scored 15 points and snagged six rebounds. Kelsey Sharkey played another great defensive game with 11 rebounds and 7 steals, while also chipping in 7 points. From Kelsey, you will take that every game, although her weakness is her free throw shooting. She accounted for Appalachian’s six missed free throws by herself.

Women’s Basketball 80 Elon 62

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Appalachian is in a very precarious spot. A win is highly needed and a very surprising Elon team is coming to town looking to steal a win from the reeling Mountaineers. Elon has jumped out to an 8-2 conference record, including a win over Chattanooga at home. The Phoenix hold a game and a half lead over Appalachian in the conference standings and currently sit in third place, only one game out of first place Chattanooga and Davidson. Elon is 3-6 on the road this season, one of the worst records on the road of SoCon teams. Their wins include at Western Carolina, Charleston and Wofford. Appalachian will easily be their biggest road test thus far in conference play outside of Davidson, who beat the Phoenix by fifteen last weekend.

Elon is led by Ali Ford, their senior guard who leads the conference in scoring at 17.1 points per game. Ford is quietly campaigning for player of the year honors by also leading the conference in free throw percentage and ranks second in three pointers made per game. Ford has had up and down games in her career against Appalachian, having never beaten the Mountaineers in seven career games. Ford will usually have a good half, but has rarely put together a complete game for Elon. If Ford is not on her game, Elon will have a hard time beating Appalachian. Kelsey Evans has also had a very nice season for Elon, averaging 14.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest.

Appalachian has been on somewhat of a slide for a couple weeks. They are still playing good basketball, but nowhere near their potential. That should point to how well Appalachian can play. Even though they have been playing below their expectations, Samford still needed a buzzer beater to win, and Chattanooga lost a thirteen point advantage before holding on. Appalachian’s toughest games this season have been on the road, so hosting Elon will be different for them. Elon will be Appalachian’s toughest home opponent this season.

Anna Freeman needs to become slightly more selfish with the ball. She is the best player in the conference, and has underachieved slighty this season. Playing against Ali Ford should give her all the motivation she needs to have a good game against the Phoenix. Appalachian will also need more production from the wing, including getting the perimeter game going with Katie Mallow and Farrahn Wood. The three pointers need to start falling so Appalachian can open up the defense and start hitting the paint with more consistency.

Postgame:

Darcie Vincent employed a bold strategy against Elon and it worked to perfection. Vincent went with Jessica Barrios to start at point guard in an obvious defense strategy that worked to perfection. We are pretty sure Barrios started her first career game, and spent most of the game smothering Elon star Ali Ford. Vincent then through off Ford by rotating Raven Gary and Michelle Taylor against Ford for the remainder of the game. That strategy could not have worked better. Ford picked up a technical foul during the game, that led to her fouling out with four minutes to play. By that time, the game was well decided, as Appalachian led the entire game. The Mountaineers shot the ball from all spots on the court 47% from the field, 50% from three, and 71% from the free throw line.

Ali Ford still managed to score her 18 points, but it was a very quiet night from her. Appalachian kept her getting hot from behind the arc, which is one of her biggest strengths. Eight of her eighteen points came on the free throw line, and she turned the ball over seven times. Outside of Ford, Elon could not find a second threat to score in Ford’s stead. No other Elon players scored in double figures, and the Phoenix could only manage shooting 30% for the game.

We were looking for Appalachian to involve Anna Freeman more in the offense, and they did. Freeman scored 26 points, her second highest total of the season, while also adding ten rebounds. It was the sixth double digit rebounding game of the season, and Anna’s fourth double-double of the season. The Apps are 4-0 this season when Freeman secures a double-double. Maryah Sydnor added 19 points and six rebounds while Kelsey Sharkey added 10 point and nine rebounds in 26 minutes.

Women’s Basketball 64 Samford 66

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When Appalachian and Samford play on Monday Night, plenty will be on the line. The loser will have their third or fourth loss in conference play, and will have an extremely uphill battle if they plan on winning the conference battle. Samford has ended Appalachian’s conference tournament the last three years. The Bulldogs use a Princeton-style offense by shooting a lot of three pointers and spreading the ball out. They strive on hitting those three pointers and getting long rebounds. It does help Appalachian that their last opponent Chattanooga loves the three point shot as well, so despite the loss, it was good practice for Appalachian.

Samford is 9-9 on the season and has been known for their defensive prowess. They have  only allowed 52.6 points per game. Samford had a season long streak of four games allowing under 50 points snapped after playing Davidson and Chattanooga, who 63 and 66 points respectively. In two games this season, they gave up less than thirty points. Samford is 6-2 at home this season, while all of Appalachian’s four losses this season have come on the road. Samford is led by Jazmine Martin and her 10.6 points per game. Hannah Dawson averages 7.1 rebounds per game, and 6.8 points per contest. Shelby Campbell scores 9.3 points per game. Six Samford starters have hit 14 or more three pointers on the season.

Anna Freeman continues to lead the Mountaineers in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (8.6). Anna also leads the team in blocks, steals and assists. Maryah Sydnor’s strong play of late has edged her ahead as the team’s second leading scorer at 14.8 points per game while she also adds 6.8 rebounds per game. Courtney Freeman rounds out the double digit scorers with 14.1 per game.

Postgame:

Appalachian dropped its second straight game in a row on the road as Samford hit a driving layup as time expired to propel the Bulldogs to a 66-64 win. Maryah Sydnor hit a long two point jumper with seven seconds remaining to tie the game at 64. Samford quickly inbounded and drove the length of the floor, beating the buzzer and giving the Bulldogs the win.

The first half was a mess as Appalachian trailed Samford by thirteen points, and only scoring twenty points in the first half. Samford was hitting their threes and knocking down their free throws, while Appalachian went without a three pointer for their third consecutive half. Samford recorded more assists in the first half than Appalachian did made field goals.

The second half was a different story, as the Mountaineers slowly began to trim away at the Samford lead. The Bulldogs went to a very conservative offensive approach, almost playing not to lose, and Appalachian dialed up the defensive pressure. The final stats will not tell the story of the game, as Appalachian made up ground in many categories. Appalachian eventually forced Samford into 27 turnovers and turned that into 31 points. The Mountaineers were also dominate in the paint, doubling up Samford 36-18. Appalachian made 23 field goals to the Samford’s seventeen. The difference however was on the free throw line. Twenty-five of Samford’s 66 points came on the free throw line, while Appalachian only managed making 16/25 from the free throw line. Samford also hit seven three pointers to only two for the Mountaineers.

Appalachian has now fallen in a huge hole, as they do not control their own destiny to contend for a conference title. They are going to need some help down the stretch, and luckily seven of their final eleven games will be played at home, where they have yet to lose. The Mountaineers must find a rhythm, because they are not firing on all cylinders this season and have not been for awhile. I believe they could play with a little more agression on the offensive end and attack the basket. They should use their great team free throw shooting to their advantage and get to the line thirty times a game. Force the opponent to react to you instead of playing so passively. Elon comes to to Boone on Saturday, and this a great time for Appalachian to reassert themselves in all aspects of the game. Elon is not a pushover, and is actually ahead of the Mountaineers in the conference standings. This team needs to get its swagger back, yeah I said that, and just get back to having fun and playing the game.