The Mountaineers just set a new school record for points scored in a game, defeating the North Carolina Central Eagles 79-75 in overtime Thursday night.
Graduate guard Tyree Boykin led the Black and Gold with seven points in overtime and 20 in the game. Senior forward Donovan also scored 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists for Gregory.
“I’m really proud of our team,” said head coach Dustin Kearns. “We played some tough plays on both ends.”
Both teams started the game with solid defense, allowing each other just three goals in the first three minutes of play. A 7-0 Mountaineer run secured a slight lead until the Eagles took a 6-point lead with eight minutes left in the first half.
Black and Gold failed to find an attacking rhythm for the remainder of the first half, knocking down only 29{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c} of their shots, but their stifling defense held the game to a 33-28 first half. .
The second half started with Gregory firing on all cylinders and scoring eight of the Mountaineers’ first 11 points, but the Eagles stepped up their defense and took the lead to eight with 11:16 remaining. Increased.
Both teams battled to establish their lead until sophomore guard Terence Harcum pushed his way through traffic to the rim and laid up. Several back-to-back stops on the defensive end saw Gregory and Boykin each win a basket while the Eagles were forced to make mistakes on the other side. This 9-0 run of his was capped off by his 3-pointer from Harkam, who with 5:57 left in the second half he tied the score at 54-54. North Carolina Central broke the tie on the next possession to take a 3-point lead, but freshman forward Justin Abson threw a two-handed slam in transition after a no-look pass from Gregory.
With 4:13 left, Gregory pulled the ball away from the Eagles and found Harcum on a fast break for a layup to give the Mountaineers a 58–57 lead. Solid offensive consistency for the rest of regulation gave the Mountaineers a 64–61 lead with just over a minute remaining in the game.
North Carolina Central called a timeout with 16 seconds remaining in the game after earning defensive stops on the next two offensive possessions by Black and Gold.
Leading the Eagles with 17 points, Justin Wright received the ball at the top of the key as time slowed. Wright hit a deep step-back three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game and force him into overtime, even though Harkam was defending hard throughout the possession.
With five more minutes of playtime, the App State offense turned deadly. After a big three-pointer from Boykin gave Black and Gold a three-point edge, the Eagles responded with their own layup to make it a one-point game.Junior forward CJ Huntley knocked down a three-pointer to 70 -66 lead with 3:42 left in extra time.
The Eagles went empty on the next possession and with 3:02 left Boykin hit another jump shot to the ovation of 2,145 fans. After returning his App State lead to his 3 on Wright’s 3, Huntley scored his second 3-pointer in overtime to bring the lead back to his 6.
As the Eagles tried to score some points on the board, Abson was called for a shooting foul with 1:33 left in the game before blocking Wright’s 3-pointer for the next possession. was hit out of bounds.
Abson, who had a game-high five blocks and eight rebounds, was praised by Kearns for his performance.
“He earned it,” Kearns said. “It’s not a fluke, he’s just a good player.”
After two successful free throws, the Eagles were forced to foul Applistate on three consecutive possessions, and free throws from Boykin, Huntley, and junior guard Zavion Brown sealed the win for the Mountaineers. Sealed.
Although they shot only 41{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c} from the floor, the Mountaineers finished with four players in double-digit points.
“We have a lot of options and I think that’s part of our strength right now,” Kearns said.
Boykin and Huntley led the Blacks and Golds in overtime with seven points each. Boykin, who moved to High Country during the offseason, was the Mountaineer offense facilitator in clutch time.
“It was a lot of fun,” Boykin said. “It’s always been uncommon, and I really appreciate that.”
The Mountaineers continue their season with the Louisville Cardinals in Louisville, Kentucky at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday.
