ASU ready to host Harvard
by Steve Behr Sports Editor
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com
Appalachian State's men's basketball team is hoping the fourth time is a charm.
The Mountaineers (22-12) host Harvard in the Collegeinsider Tournament Wednesday night looking for their first win in the postseason in four tries. Two losses, were NCAA Tournament games played in 1979 (71-57 to LSU) and 2000 (87-61 to Ohio State). Another was an NIT loss to Mississippi (73-59) in 2007.
All three of those losses were to teams from a power conference. Harvard (21-7) is not from one of those leagues. But the Ivy League school has a win over the ACC's Boston College this year, and is making its first appearance in a postseason game since 1946.
The Crimson has Appalachian State coach Buzz Peterson's attention.
"It's going to be competitive," Peterson said. "All the teams we play now are very good teams."
The Crimson is coached by former Duke standout Tommy Amaker. Harvard's leading scorer is 6-foot-3 senior guard Jeremy Lin, who averages 16.6 points per game and also leads the team with 126 assists. He also has 70 steals.
Forward Kyle Casey, a 6-7 freshman, has started just nine of the Crimson's 28 games, but averages 10.3 points per game. He also leads the team by grabbing 5.3 rebounds per game. Another Crimson, Brandyn Curry, is a 6-1 freshman guard who attended Hopewell High in Huntersville and averages 7.3 points per game.
The Crimson won seven of its final nine games, but is coming off a 54-51 loss to Princeton on March 6. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament.
"We're excited about playing," Peterson said. "It's the fourth time Appalachian's been in the postseason, so we're excited about that. Appalachian has never won a postseason game, so we've got a lot to play for."
The Mountaineers are also on the rebound, having lost 56-51 to Wofford in the Southern Conference Tournament. The Mountaineers' two leading scorers, Donald Sims (20.0 ppg) and Kellen Brand (11.5 ppg) combined to shoot just 2-for-23 from the field and scored 10 points between them.
As a team, the Mountaineers shot just 28 percent from the field, but still average 74.6 points per game.
Forward Andre Williamson had a solid tournament, scoring 12 points and pulling down 12 rebounds against Wofford while coming off the bench. Williamson also blocked four shots, sending one of them over the Wofford bench and into the crowd, which numbered 6,193 last Monday.
Peterson hopes to get a similar crowd into Holmes.
"Hopefully we'll get a good turnout," he said. "Harvard's a name everybody knows and there will be two even teams."
o The game also pits rival alma-maters against each other. Amaker, and Harvard assistant coaches Brian DeStefano and Kenny Blakeney are all Duke graduates, while Peterson and assistant Jason Capel went to North Carolina. ...No word has been given as who or where the Mountaineers will play should they win. ...The game will be broadcast on WATA-AM, 1450 beginning with a 6:15 p.m. air time.
sports@wataugademocrat.com
Appalachian State's men's basketball team is hoping the fourth time is a charm.
The Mountaineers (22-12) host Harvard in the Collegeinsider Tournament Wednesday night looking for their first win in the postseason in four tries. Two losses, were NCAA Tournament games played in 1979 (71-57 to LSU) and 2000 (87-61 to Ohio State). Another was an NIT loss to Mississippi (73-59) in 2007.
All three of those losses were to teams from a power conference. Harvard (21-7) is not from one of those leagues. But the Ivy League school has a win over the ACC's Boston College this year, and is making its first appearance in a postseason game since 1946.
The Crimson has Appalachian State coach Buzz Peterson's attention.
"It's going to be competitive," Peterson said. "All the teams we play now are very good teams."
The Crimson is coached by former Duke standout Tommy Amaker. Harvard's leading scorer is 6-foot-3 senior guard Jeremy Lin, who averages 16.6 points per game and also leads the team with 126 assists. He also has 70 steals.
Forward Kyle Casey, a 6-7 freshman, has started just nine of the Crimson's 28 games, but averages 10.3 points per game. He also leads the team by grabbing 5.3 rebounds per game. Another Crimson, Brandyn Curry, is a 6-1 freshman guard who attended Hopewell High in Huntersville and averages 7.3 points per game.
The Crimson won seven of its final nine games, but is coming off a 54-51 loss to Princeton on March 6. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament.
"We're excited about playing," Peterson said. "It's the fourth time Appalachian's been in the postseason, so we're excited about that. Appalachian has never won a postseason game, so we've got a lot to play for."
The Mountaineers are also on the rebound, having lost 56-51 to Wofford in the Southern Conference Tournament. The Mountaineers' two leading scorers, Donald Sims (20.0 ppg) and Kellen Brand (11.5 ppg) combined to shoot just 2-for-23 from the field and scored 10 points between them.
As a team, the Mountaineers shot just 28 percent from the field, but still average 74.6 points per game.
Forward Andre Williamson had a solid tournament, scoring 12 points and pulling down 12 rebounds against Wofford while coming off the bench. Williamson also blocked four shots, sending one of them over the Wofford bench and into the crowd, which numbered 6,193 last Monday.
Peterson hopes to get a similar crowd into Holmes.
"Hopefully we'll get a good turnout," he said. "Harvard's a name everybody knows and there will be two even teams."
o The game also pits rival alma-maters against each other. Amaker, and Harvard assistant coaches Brian DeStefano and Kenny Blakeney are all Duke graduates, while Peterson and assistant Jason Capel went to North Carolina. ...No word has been given as who or where the Mountaineers will play should they win. ...The game will be broadcast on WATA-AM, 1450 beginning with a 6:15 p.m. air time.