Appalachian State Ends Wildcat Streaks with 81-74 Victory
1/20/2007 10:17:03 AM | Men's Basketball
Sports Information - Joey Beeler
Box Score | Postgame interview
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- D.J. Thompson recorded a game-high 19 points and Appalachian State ended the nation's second longest winning streak of 12, with an 81-74 victory over Davidson in Southern Conference men's basketball action Saturday at Belk Arena in front of 5,580 fans. The loss was the first for the Wildcats in league play this year dropping them to 7-1 and 16-4 overall. The Mountaineers improved to 14-5 and 6-2 in the conference.
Thompson, a senior Preseason All-Conference selection, led four Appalachian players with at least 10 points going 6-of-15 from the floor. Donte Minter was a close second with 16 points, while Kellen Brand and Jeremy Clayton contributed 14 and 12, respectively.
The final stanza featured a number of runs as the Wildcats started the period with an 8-0 run to grab their first lead of the game, 44-43, forcing Appalachian to burn a 30 second timeout just 2:21 into the frame. Out of the stoppage, the Mountaineers responded with eight unanswered of their own to push the game back in their favor, 51-44.
Davidson scratched and clawed its way back over the next 2:05 to tie the affair 52-52 on an Andrew Lovedale bucket, and continued what would be a 20-6 spurt to grab its largest lead of the day, 64-57, midway through the second.
Trailing by seven, ASU eventually evened the score at 69-69 on Thompson's second trey and only field goal in the frame. Minter broke the deadlock with a jumper in the lane just before the shot clock expired, but the Wildcats' Boris Meno answered with a long range basket to put his club back in front 72-71 with 4:39 to go.
After both teams struggled and went scoreless over the next 1:39, Minter pushed the score back in favor of the Mountaineers for good with just over three minutes to play. The Virginia transfer scored the final three field goals for ASU.
The backcourt duo of Jason Richards and Stephen Curry led three Wildcats in double figures with 15 each, while Meno added 13. Richards also dished out eight assists and swiped a career-high four steals.
Appalachian State raced out of the gates grabbing an early 8-0 advantage following back-to-back treys from Nathan Cranford and Thompson. The Mountaineers maintained their lead the entire first half not allowing Davidson closer than one point as they closed on a 7-2 run to head into the break up 43-36.
The Wildcats struggled offensively in the opening period connecting on just 36.8 percent (14-38) of their attempts, while ASU drilled 51.5 percent (17-33) overall and 4-of-8 of its tries from deep.
Davidson's lone bright spot in the stanza came on the boards as they hauled in 12 offensive rebounds to hold a 23-19 edge on the glass.
Thompson led all-scorers with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting in the first 20 minutes of action.
The Wildcats improved on their overall percentage thanks to a 48.4 clip (15-31) in the second half to finish the contest with a 42 percent (29-69) total from the field. Davidson hit just seven of its 27 attempts from behind the arc, but shot 90 percent from the charity stripe.
Appalachian State, the SoCon's top-shooting club, drilled 50.9 percent (29-57) from the field and hit 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from downtown. Despite just its first loss in 12 contests at home, Davidson ended with a slim 37-36 margin on the glass.
Davidson will travel to Statesboro, Ga., for a 7:30 p.m. contest with Georgia Southern Tuesday, Jan. 23. The Mountaineers return home to entertain Furman on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
