Published: 1:18 AM, 11/07/2009

Last updated: 12:52 PM, 11/17/2009

By: staff reports

From staff reports
Appalachian State took a 14-point halftime lead and never looked back in its 94-81 victory over Mars Hill in an exhibition men's basketball game at the Holmes Center Friday night.
The Mountaineers, who open the 2009-10 regular season next Friday at home against UNC Wilmington, got 33 points from guard Donald Sims, who hit 11-of-13 shots and all six of his free throws.
The Mountaineers got the bulk of their scoring from guards. Jeremi Booth added 20 points for the Mountaineers, while Kellen Brand scored 16 and Marcus Wright, another guard, scored 14.
Appalachian State, hit hard by a flu virus that kept forward Andre Williamson and center Tyler Webb on the bench, got just six points from forward Josh Hunter and two points, but 10 rebounds, from center Ike Butts.
Butts was playing for just the second time since he returned from knee surgery Thursday.
Appalachian State also dished out 19 assists, getting four each from Hinter and Sims. However, the Mountaineers also turned the ball over 26 times, though Mars Hill turned the ball over 22 times.
Appalachian State took a 46-32 halftime lead after going in front 22-9 with 13:47 left in the first half. The Mountaineers were helped by 5-of-5 3-point shooting from Sims, and by the fact they shot 51 percent from the field.
Appalachian State also hurt the Lions by making 10-of-11 foul shots in the first half and 22-of-26 from the game. Mars Hill, a Division II school that plays in the South Atlantic Conference, converted just 6-of-9 foul shots the entire game.
A Brand layup put the Mountaineers up 67-49 with 11:50 to go in the game. Appalachian State took a 26-point lead (89-63), its largest, on a Sims jumper with 4:45 left before the Lions managed to trim that advantage down to 13, the final margin of the game.
Stoney Polite led the Lions with 21 points, while Danny Sanders had 18 points and seven rebounds.

Appalachian State 94, Mars Hill 81.
Mars Hill
Malachi 3-6 1-2 7, Pickering 4-6 0-0 8, Polite 8-19 0-0 21, Smith 1-4 2-2 6, Sanders 7-18 1-1 18, King 1-1 -0 3, Krdzalic 2-2 0-0 6, Kostic 0-5 1-2 1, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0,Patton 3-6 0-0 8, McElroy 1-5 1-2 3. Totals 31-73 6-9 81.
Appalachian State
Hunter 1-2 4-5 6, Nirenberg 0-2 0-0 0, Sims 11-13 6-6 33, Booth 7-11 3-5 20, Brand 5-12 6-6 16, Healy 0-1 3-4 3, Wright 6-10 0-0 14, Archer 0-0 0-0 0, Lail 0-0 0-0 0, Butts 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 31-55 22-26 94.
Halftime score-Appalachian State 46, Mars Hill 32. 3-point goals-Mars Hill 13-35 (Polite 5-14, Sanders 3-10, Krdzalic 2-2, Patton 2-5, King 1-1, Pickering 0-1, Kostic 0-2); ASU 10-18 (Sims 5-6, Booth 3-5, Wright 2-3, Hunter 0-1, Brand 0-3). Rebounds-Mars Hill 34 (Sanders 7), ASU 37 (Butts 10). Assists-Mars Hill 16 (Sanders 5), ASU 19 (Hunter, Sims 4). Turnovers-Mars Hill 22, ASU 26. Total fouls-Mars Hill 23, ASU 13. Fouled out-None. Technical fouls-None. A-1,016.