Mountaineers cruise past Harvard
by Mark Mitchell
By Mark Mitchell
mmitchell@mountaintimes.com
Appalachian State's men's basketball team made history on Wednesday, becoming the first team to capture a postseason victory in the school's history. The Mountaineers accomplished the feat by virtue of a 93-71 win over Harvard in the first round of the http://CollegeInsider.com Tournament in front of a home crowd of 1,786.
Appalachian State set a single-season record with its 14th win at the Holmes Center. Appalachian State's 23rd victory of the season also ties the 2009-2010 edition with the 1978-79 and 1999-2000 teams for the second most in school history.
"I'm very happy for our seniors, No.1., to be the first ones to get a postseason win in our history," ASU head coach Buzz Peterson said. "These guys have been through a lot ... and from day one, they have worked extremely hard ... It was a good win for our program."
While the win entered this year's squad into the school's record books, it did not come easy. ASU had to fight back from a rough start after digging itself a first-half hole. The Crimson of Harvard came out firing on all cylinders, surging to a 8-0 lead just a minute and 10 seconds into the game. Down 10-3 with 17:38 left in the first half, Peterson pulled all five starters, looking for a combination ready to play.
"I wanted some energy," Peterson said. "We came out very nervous and tight like we did against Wofford ... I was looking for guys to play hard with energy and enthusiasm."
Marcus Wright and Andre Williamson both notched a pair of baskets off the bench as ASU trimmed the margin to 15-10. Harvard's Christian Webster, however, then went on a tear of his own, nailing four-straight 3-pointers to give the Crimson their largest lead of the night at 30-18 with 10:22 left in the opening 20 minutes.
Donald Sims then led an ASU charge which saw the Mountaineers cut the deficit to 32-30 with a little more than five minutes before halftime, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers in scoring eight points. It was a driving layup from Kellen Brand, however, which finally gave ASU its first lead of the night at 39-37 with 1:26 before halftime. A rim-rattling dunk from Williamson and a Josh Hunter bucket at the buzzer gave Appalachian State a 43-37 halftime advantage, ending a 25-7 ASU run to end the half.
The Mountaineers quickly pulled away in the second half, grabbing their first double-digit lead at 51-40 on a pair of Hunter free throws just four minutes into the final stanza. Sims then put the game out of reach, scoring 11 of ASU's next 20 points for a 71-55 lead. A pair of Josh Nirenberg buckets closed out the scoring, and the 22-point victory.
Individually, Sims scored a team-high 22 points to lead the Mountaineers, while Webster led all scorers with 24 points on 7-8 shooting from the field, including a perfect 6-6 on 3-pointers. For the game, ASU shot 57 percent from the field, compared to 43 percent for Harvard. The key stats for the Mountaineers, however, were ASU's 40-14 advantage in points in the paint, and Appalachian's 20-1 advantage in second-chance points.
"They are very quick and athletic," Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker said. "Their big guys played outstanding in the paint ... All the credit to Appalachian State and coach Buzz Peterson."
ASU plays at Marshall in the second round of the tournament Monday at 7 p.m. The Herd beat Western Carolina in the first round 90-88. Marshall (24-9) finished third in Conference USA this season.
Appalachian State 93, Harvard 71
Harvard (21-8)
Miller 1-3 0-0 2, Casey 5-13 2-3 14, Lin 4-10 4-6 12, Curry 3-6 0-0 8, Kenyi 0-3 0-0 0, Webster 7-8 4-4 24, McNally 1-3 0-0 3, Georgatos 0-0 0-0 0, Giger 1-2 2-2 4, Magnarelli 1-2 2-4 4, deMars 0-1 0-0 0, Wright 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 14-19 71.
Appalachian State (23-12)
Hunter 5-7 3-3 13, Butts 4-7 0-2 8, Sims 8-17 0-0 22, Booth 2-4 0-0 6, Brand 6-9 0-0 14, Abraham 0-3 0-0 0, Healy 0-0 0-0 0, Wright 4-8 1-2 10, Archer 0-0 0-0 0, Lail 0-0 0-0 0, Highsmith 0-0 0-0 0, Webb 2-3 0-0 5, Nirenberg 2-2 0-0 4, Williamson 4-5 3-4 11 Totals 37-65 7-13 93.
Halftime score-ASU 43, Harvard 37. 3-point goals-Harvard 11-25 (Webster 6-6, Curry 2-4, Casey 2-7, McNally 1-3, Kenyi 0-2). ASU 12-21 (Sims 6-11, Booth 2-3, Brand 2-4, Webb 1-1, Wright 1-2). Rebounds-Harvard 25 (Lin 7), ASU 39 (Butts 7). Assists-Harvard 16 (Lin 5), ASU 20 (Abraham 5). Turnovers-Harvard 13, ASU 9. Total fouls-Harvard 12, ASU 14. Fouled out-None. Technical fouls-None. A-1,786.
mmitchell@mountaintimes.com
Appalachian State's men's basketball team made history on Wednesday, becoming the first team to capture a postseason victory in the school's history. The Mountaineers accomplished the feat by virtue of a 93-71 win over Harvard in the first round of the http://CollegeInsider.com Tournament in front of a home crowd of 1,786.
Appalachian State set a single-season record with its 14th win at the Holmes Center. Appalachian State's 23rd victory of the season also ties the 2009-2010 edition with the 1978-79 and 1999-2000 teams for the second most in school history.
"I'm very happy for our seniors, No.1., to be the first ones to get a postseason win in our history," ASU head coach Buzz Peterson said. "These guys have been through a lot ... and from day one, they have worked extremely hard ... It was a good win for our program."
While the win entered this year's squad into the school's record books, it did not come easy. ASU had to fight back from a rough start after digging itself a first-half hole. The Crimson of Harvard came out firing on all cylinders, surging to a 8-0 lead just a minute and 10 seconds into the game. Down 10-3 with 17:38 left in the first half, Peterson pulled all five starters, looking for a combination ready to play.
"I wanted some energy," Peterson said. "We came out very nervous and tight like we did against Wofford ... I was looking for guys to play hard with energy and enthusiasm."
Marcus Wright and Andre Williamson both notched a pair of baskets off the bench as ASU trimmed the margin to 15-10. Harvard's Christian Webster, however, then went on a tear of his own, nailing four-straight 3-pointers to give the Crimson their largest lead of the night at 30-18 with 10:22 left in the opening 20 minutes.
Donald Sims then led an ASU charge which saw the Mountaineers cut the deficit to 32-30 with a little more than five minutes before halftime, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers in scoring eight points. It was a driving layup from Kellen Brand, however, which finally gave ASU its first lead of the night at 39-37 with 1:26 before halftime. A rim-rattling dunk from Williamson and a Josh Hunter bucket at the buzzer gave Appalachian State a 43-37 halftime advantage, ending a 25-7 ASU run to end the half.
The Mountaineers quickly pulled away in the second half, grabbing their first double-digit lead at 51-40 on a pair of Hunter free throws just four minutes into the final stanza. Sims then put the game out of reach, scoring 11 of ASU's next 20 points for a 71-55 lead. A pair of Josh Nirenberg buckets closed out the scoring, and the 22-point victory.
Individually, Sims scored a team-high 22 points to lead the Mountaineers, while Webster led all scorers with 24 points on 7-8 shooting from the field, including a perfect 6-6 on 3-pointers. For the game, ASU shot 57 percent from the field, compared to 43 percent for Harvard. The key stats for the Mountaineers, however, were ASU's 40-14 advantage in points in the paint, and Appalachian's 20-1 advantage in second-chance points.
"They are very quick and athletic," Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker said. "Their big guys played outstanding in the paint ... All the credit to Appalachian State and coach Buzz Peterson."
ASU plays at Marshall in the second round of the tournament Monday at 7 p.m. The Herd beat Western Carolina in the first round 90-88. Marshall (24-9) finished third in Conference USA this season.
Appalachian State 93, Harvard 71
Harvard (21-8)
Miller 1-3 0-0 2, Casey 5-13 2-3 14, Lin 4-10 4-6 12, Curry 3-6 0-0 8, Kenyi 0-3 0-0 0, Webster 7-8 4-4 24, McNally 1-3 0-0 3, Georgatos 0-0 0-0 0, Giger 1-2 2-2 4, Magnarelli 1-2 2-4 4, deMars 0-1 0-0 0, Wright 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 23-54 14-19 71.
Appalachian State (23-12)
Hunter 5-7 3-3 13, Butts 4-7 0-2 8, Sims 8-17 0-0 22, Booth 2-4 0-0 6, Brand 6-9 0-0 14, Abraham 0-3 0-0 0, Healy 0-0 0-0 0, Wright 4-8 1-2 10, Archer 0-0 0-0 0, Lail 0-0 0-0 0, Highsmith 0-0 0-0 0, Webb 2-3 0-0 5, Nirenberg 2-2 0-0 4, Williamson 4-5 3-4 11 Totals 37-65 7-13 93.
Halftime score-ASU 43, Harvard 37. 3-point goals-Harvard 11-25 (Webster 6-6, Curry 2-4, Casey 2-7, McNally 1-3, Kenyi 0-2). ASU 12-21 (Sims 6-11, Booth 2-3, Brand 2-4, Webb 1-1, Wright 1-2). Rebounds-Harvard 25 (Lin 7), ASU 39 (Butts 7). Assists-Harvard 16 (Lin 5), ASU 20 (Abraham 5). Turnovers-Harvard 13, ASU 9. Total fouls-Harvard 12, ASU 14. Fouled out-None. Technical fouls-None. A-1,786.