By David Rogers. TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — With a clear height advantage, Alexander Central’s women’s basketball junior varsity overwhelmed their Watauga counterparts, 50-32, on Jan. 14.
Cooper Childers poured in a game-high 13 points for the Cougars, including one of two ACHS 3-pointers. The other trey was a first quarter salvo by Kayleigh Porter.
Guard Lyla Mayberry also got into double figures for Alexander Central. Her 12 points included hitting on two of three attempts from the charity stripe.
While Watauga only had four players find the bottom of the net, led by Steph Mendez’s 11 points and eight apiece by Presli Wood and Charlie Mattox, the Cougars saw points generated up and down their roster.
Watauga got behind early and although they staged a little bit of a rally in the second half, could not sustain it enough to cut meaningfully into the Cougars’ 15 point lead by intermission.
Next on the schedule for Watauga is a home tilt vs. Hibriten on Jan. 17.
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Visitors to the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum in February may have a “rocky” experience — and that is meant in a good way.
A new exhibition, “Considerations: An Installation by Sarah Vaughn” will open at BRAHM on February 15, 2025, and will be on view in the Museum’s Atwell Gallery through August 10, 2025.
According to pre-exhibition literature, Vaughn’s “Considerations” invites visitors “… to step into a landscape of thousands of carefully crafted glass river rocks. Made using techniques like blowing, flame-working, casting, and laminating, these fragile stones are stacked and arranged to create an immersive installation that explores how we experience and remember the world around us. Each glass rock represents a moment in time — some tied to personal memories, others shaped from reclaimed glass, blending stories of loss and creation.”
The larger work is at once precarious and disarming…
Ian Gabriel Wilson, Curator at BRAHM noted, “We’re thrilled to present Considerations: An Installation by Sarah Vaughn at BRAHM. Over the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Sarah to develop this thought-provoking installation. Her technical skill with the medium of glass is astonishing, matched only by the physically and emotionally immersive environment she constructs with thousands of these discrete sculptures. The larger work is at once precarious and disarming, inviting viewers to engage with themes that are both acutely personal and universally relatable. This exhibition epitomizes BRAHM’s commitment to showcasing artists who challenge us to see the world—and ourselves—through a transformative lens.”
The exhibition is supported through a Project Support Grant of The North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Project Support is designed to help organizations that are producing and/or presenting specific arts programs that engage audiences and participants. “We are so pleased to be able to support BRAHM’s exhibition featuring the work of artist Sarah Vaughn. Vaughn’s work is contemplative and allows visitors to explore the themes of memory, metamorphosis, and resilience” said Dara Silver, Senior Program Director, North Carolina Arts Council, NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Exhibition programming:
February 20: Cocktails with the Curator at 6 – 7 p.m. in the gallery.
April 28 – May 3, 2025: Sarah Vaughn will be in residency at the Museum interacting with the exhibition.
May 3: BRAHM is hosting a community day and invites all visitors to meet Sarah and learn about the work.
To stay updated on all programming for Sarah Vaughn visit blowingrockmuseum.org/calendar and follow our social media @brmuseum.
About BRAHM:
BRAHM’s mission is to curate, preserve, educate, and inspire. Rooted in the creative cultures of Appalachia, BRAHM aims to cultivate a community that extends beyond its walls and region, positioning Western North Carolina as a leader in the arts. The 25,000-square-foot Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, known as BRAHM, opened its doors on October 1, 2011.
Located off Main Street in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, BRAHM provides cultural enrichment by promoting the arts and history through educational programs, exhibitions, and activities. The permanent collection of more than 600 objects includes works by Elliott Daingerfield, Maud Gatewood, Elizabeth Bradford, Mark Hewitt, and other American impressionist and post-impressionist artists.
Open year-round, BRAHM welcomes 24,000 visitors free of charge to experience 25 changing exhibitions. BRAHM also has an outreach education program that encourages arts education in local schools, daycares, and senior centers. For more information, visit blowingrockmuseum.org.
By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — It was only four years ago that I dined with a longtime friend at an upscale restaurant in Pacific Palisades, Calif., where my friend lived. Never in my wildest nightmares could I have imagined a future in which this pristine, picturesque community would be ravaged by wildfire, everything consumed, leaving behind chimneys as lonely statues of a once great civilization and burned out shells that were once automobiles, now littering the charred streets.
How do we explain the unexpected, things that you would never imagine happening… happening?
We have experienced high winds and heavy rainfall from hurricanes in past years, but did any of us ever imagine the impact of Hurricane Helene on Asheville, Avery County, Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, much of Watauga County and so many other communities in the mountains of North Carolina and eastern Tennessee?
As someone who grew up in Southern California and still have many friends there, it tears at my heart strings to see the devastation in Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Malibu, and other areas around Los Angeles today. I’ve walked those streets, driven by the landmarks, talked with the people. The wildfires do not discriminate between the economic “classes.”
Before former President Ronald Reagan purchased Rancho Del Cielo north of Santa Barbara and it became his “Western White House,” he and Nancy had a vacation home in the Pacific Palisades area. For decades, the town has been one of the world’s priciest real estate markets, home to musicians, actors, and other celebrities, including highly successful business executives like my friend.
In this wildfire, it did not matter who you are or how much money you might have. My friend was able to evacuate with only four shirts, a laptop, his camera and a dog. He and his wife have relocated to a Comfort Inn, uncertain as to how long or what’s next.
Hurricane Helene and the wildfires of Los Angeles are not the only natural disasters in the past year, but they are among the most unimaginable. As a nation, we have also seen flooding in the Upper Midwest, six tornado outbreaks, a total of five tropical cyclones (hurricanes) and other severe weather events that brought hailstorms, snow and ice. There was an earlier wildfire in New Mexico last year and a heat wave-driven drought across the southern midsection of the U.S.
Certainly, those events rendered local areas “disaster zones,” and our thoughts and prayers go out to those suffering. We are thankful for non-profit organizations like Samaritan’s Purse and The Red Cross, as well as state and local government agencies such as FEMA and the SBA to help alleviate the suffering and speed up recovery.
Our own worst enemy?
Whether caused by climate change or some sort of “normal” weather cycle, these natural disaster events are becoming more severe and more frequent, it seems.
For Blowing Rock, which fared pretty well in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene compared to others in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, I am left to wonder if this wasn’t Mother Nature’s warning shot across our proverbial bow, begging us to question, “Are we prepared for the worst, perhaps yet to come? Are we ready for the unexpected? Can we imagine the unimaginable?”
Dr. Stephen Pyne, PhD, is an emeritus professor at Arizona State University, specializing in environmental history and especially the history of fire, according to his biography on the university website. For an interesting introduction to his perspective, I recommend his TED Talk:
Professionally, Pyne’s focus, in his own words published in Scientific American (April 16, 2024, “Fire Forged Humanity. Now It Threatens Everything”), “… has been to chronicle the relationship between fire and humans, an alliance that has remade — and unhinged — the planet.”
Humans became unique fire creatures. We used fire to remake ourselves, and then we and fire remade Earth.
Pyne’s ominous conclusion is methodically drawn.
“Life created the oxygen fire needs; life created and arranges the fuel it requires. Even the chemistry of fire is a biochemistry: fire takes apart what photosynthesis puts together. As long as terrestrial life has existed, so has fire,” he writes.
Pyne continues, “Fire takes on some properties of the living world it depends on. In ways, it resembles a virus — something not truly alive but that requires the living world to propagate. And like a virus, fire propagates by contagion.
“The one requirement of fire that life did not furnish was ignition,” he adds. “That changed with the appearance of a genus, now a single species, that could start fire at will: ours. Humans became unique fire creatures. We used fire to remake ourselves, and then we and fire remade Earth.”
For a fire to start, oxygen, fuel and heat must be present. The heat source must reach a hot enough temperature to cause ignition, and with ample fuel and oxygen in the surrounding area, a fire can spread with dramatic speed.
How is this relevant to us, today?
Several years ago, Blowing Rock Fire & Rescue Chief Kent Graham told me that the ice and wind events in and around our area create alarming threats to Blowing Rock and its surrounding communities’ well-being because of all the fallen trees and limbs in the forests. They create what emergency service folks refer to as “slash,” a highly flammable fuel source for wildfires due to the large quantity of readily combustible material, often forming dense piles that can easily catch fire and spread rapidly.
Slash is also created by logging operations. We haven’t seen as much logging activity in recent years, but there are still at least 33 companies based in the region registered with the North Carolina Forest Service with an interest in buying standing timber in Watauga and nearby counties.
The greatest danger from slash comes during periods of drought, when the slash on the ground has become dry and the otherwise live trees have less in the way of natural moisture content. During droughts, not only slash but the living trees themselves are potential fuel for a wildfire.
We have experienced periods where rainfall is scarce. The National Park Service and Blue Ridge Parkway literature report that this region’s “dry season” is in the fall, from September through November. I can think of a few wildfires that have occurred, such as in 2012 and 2021 that threatened Blue Ridge Mountain Club and another fire in 2017, closer to Linville Gorge.
Imagine the unimaginable. Our region is jampacked with lots of “extra” human activity in the autumn months, from campers to leaf peepers to seasonal residents, along with the full timers.
What happens if we have an unusually dry season in the fall and a hiker down the mountain, say in the Globe, carelessly throws a still-lit cigarette butt into the underbrush? Or a camper leaves a fire unattended and a sudden gust of wind casts aloft a burning ember? Someone prematurely discards ashes from a recently burning fireplace? A lightning strike? Ignition can come from several directions.
If conditions are just right… There is already plenty of oxygen and fuel, so if that fuel is particularly dry with little or no rainfall and something ignites it, fire can spread rapidly, uncontrollably. Fire generally moves upward and creates its own air movement. In Southern California, the prolonged wind gusts reached over 100 miles per hour in Pacific Palisades, according to news reports. Given those “just right” conditions, how quickly would it take a fire ignited in the Globe to sweep up the hillsides, and overcome Blowing Rock?
Without having recently witnessed what happened in Southern California, it might be hard to imagine something like that in this area. But we have more than ample vegetation, including slash to provide the fuel. Like Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Altadena, we have homes and businesses, too.
We also have a fire history, even if somewhat ancient. Memorial Park is where the Watauga Hotel, and later the Watauga Inn, was destroyed by fire — three times.
From the Blowing Rock Fire Department website comes this excerpt about the origins of the department:
In the fall of 1923 Blowing Rock citizens decided they needed to do something when a fire almost destroyed the community. The fire that started late one evening, swept through the tiny village destroying building after building. With no fire department in 1923, the citizens carried water in buckets from nearby wells to douse the fire and prevent it from spreading. Little could be done to control the fire and an entire section of town was gone in a matter of hours. Without a doubt, the fire was the most disastrous event in the city’s history. A new ordinance banning wood construction on Main Street was immediately put into place. Only weeks after the fire, the organization of the Blowing Rock Volunteer Fire Department began.
An excerpt from the Watauga Democrat is also included in the Fire Department website about this event.
BUSINESS SECTION OF BLOWING ROCK ALMOST COMPLETELY DESTROYED
Five Business Buildings Destroyed in Blaze Originating in Lentz Store at 12 oclock Last Night Post Office Among the Buildings Burned
According to advices reaching Boone late this morning, a large part of the business houses of the town of Blowing Rock are in ashes, as a result of a fire thought to have originated about 12 o’clock last night.
The Lentz Store, a large general mercantile establishment which was totally destroyed including all the contents is said to have been covered by insurance. The H.C. Hayes store building was destroyed, but practically all of the stock recovered. Young’s Café an entire loss, as was the Episcopal reading room and exchange building. Some of the current records were recovered from the Postoffice, which is otherwise a complete loss.
The loss has been estimated at from $50,000 to $100,000. With the exception of H.C. Hayes and Co., and the Martin Drug Store, no insurance is believe to have been in force.
The city of Blowing Rock may be expected to rise from the ashes phoenix-like with a short while, as plans for building operations are under way today, and it may be expected that the new business section will be bigger and better than ever before.
– Excerpt from Watauga Democrat
Sure, that was 1923, more than 100 years ago. Back then, probably no one imagined that the whole town’s business district could be destroyed by a single fire.
That was also before climate change, global warming or whatever weather cycle we are currently experiencing.
As a community, are we ready? What precautions can we take now to help minimize potential disaster?
By David Rogers. TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. — A strong performance by Watauga High School’s swim teams produced a 4-team sweep for the women’s team and a 3-1 performance for the men in a Jan. 9 meet hosted by Alexander Central. The other teams included Wilkes Central, West Wilkes, North Wilkes, as well as Alexander Central.
“I thought we swam well considering we have missed so much practice due to bad weather and the holidays,” said Watauga head coach David Gragg. “Typically, this pool does not produce good times for our team, but this year we had quite a few fast swims.”
Looking ahead, Gragg added, “I am hopeful the weather holds out the next few weeks so that we can get our last regular season meet in, which will be Senior Night, and then get ready to host the Northwestern Conference meet the following week.”
At the Taylorsville meet, first place finishes by Pioneer swimmers included:
Next up for the Pioneer natators is a 6-team home meet at Watauga County Recreation Center vs. Alexander Central, Ashe County, Avery County, Freedom and University Christian.
By Bret Strelow. CHARLESTON, S.C. — In a showdown of teams that were top-three SoCon finishers a year ago, an App State Wrestling squad with five freshmen in its 10-man lineup recorded victories in the final nine matches to claim a 31-3 win at The Citadel on Sunday.
App State (2-2 overall, 2-0 SoCon) followed a league-opening win at VMI with another road victory, highlighted by No. 33 Carson Floyd’s 4-3 decision against No. 27 Patrick Brophy in a ranked battle at 197 pounds. Aldo Hernandez accounted for one of App State’s four major decisions in his first career dual start at 141, and fellow redshirt freshman Logan Eller also posted his first career dual win at 184.
No. 8 Will Miller took his first lead on a takedown with about a minute left in a 6-4 decision against Thomas Snopes at 165, and redshirt freshman Jeremiah Price bounced back from a recent 5-3 loss to Pitt transfer Tyler Badgett at the Southern Scuffle by winning a 5-2 decision over Badgett at 157. Kaden Keiser, meanwhile, won an 8-3 decision at 149 against Carson DesRosier, who entered the dual with a 14-3 record for the Bulldogs (3-2, 0-1).
The Mountaineers’ other victories were bonus-point results that came from Chad Bellis (11-1 major at 133), Luke Uliano (8-0 shutout at 174) and true freshman Stephan Monchery (11-3 major at heavyweight). Uliano led 1-0 entering the third period against Ben Haubert and rode out the final two minutes, producing near falls worth two and four points before earning a bonus point because of his riding time.
After they split two matches last season, Floyd turned defense into offense for a takedown and rideout with just under two minutes left in the first period against Brophy, who cut his deficit to 4-3 with a second-period takedown. With Floyd’s riding time at approximately 40 seconds entering the third, Brophy chose neutral instead of starting on bottom with a one-point deficit, and Floyd used strong defense in the third to avoid a go-ahead takedown for Brophy.
A redshirt freshman from Asheboro, Hernandez recorded a takedown in the first 10 seconds of his dual debut and ended the second period against Thomas Termini with a takedown as time expired for a 6-2 advantage. Hernandez added two more takedowns in the third.
Eller, who was making just his second dual start of the year and third of his career, had a takedown midway through the first and finished the period on top to seize control against Micah DiCarlo.
Price, another redshirt freshman, used a takedown in the closing seconds of the first period and a reversal early in the third period to beat Badgett, a third-place finisher at the Southern Scuffle.
While redshirt freshman Bryson Terrell dropped an 8-2 decision against Gylon Sims to begin the dual, App State’s youth ended the dual in impressive fashion, as Monchery took the lead on a second-period takedown and added two more takedowns in the third against Mason Ayers.
Bellis followed a first-period takedown with a rideout and turned a 4-0 lead into a 7-0 advantage thanks to a takedown in the closing seconds of the second period against George Rosas. His bonus-point win put App State ahead for good, and Keiser followed Hernandez’s major decision with a six-point first period in which he made a turn for near fall points after delivering a takedown.
Price’s win gave App State a 14-3 lead halfway through the dual, and Miller fell behind 3-0 on Snopes’ early takedown. A one-point penalty and a Miller escape cut the deficit to 3-2 by the end of the first, and a trade of escapes in the second and third periods meant Miller was trailing 4-3 in the third. He went ahead for the first time on a takedown with about a minute left and finished the match on top.
The 2024-25 season is presented by Hungry Howie’s and Penn Station. App State has a big weekend ahead, with home duals on back-to-back days against No. 8 Virginia Tech (Sunday at 3 p.m.) and Duke (Monday at 7 p.m., after a high school dual between Watauga and Avery) in Varsity Gym.
Tickets are available online for the duals against Virginia Tech (priced as a Varsity Plus match) and Duke. Tickets for home wrestling events are $5 cheaper in advance of match day.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After leading by as many as 12 points with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, App State women’s basketball turned back a fierce Coastal Carolina rally to win a thrilling nailbiter, 63-60.
After losing to Troy on Jan. 9, App State needed to get back on track in taking early command of the Sun Belt Conference standings. The win puts them in 5-way tie for second place, at 4-1 in league play, with Old Dominion, Troy, Louisiana and Arkansas State. The only remaining undefeated team is James Madison, at 5-0. The Mountaineers are 8-7 overall.
Rylan Moffitt (15) came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points and lead App State past Coastal Carolina, 63-60, on Jan. 11. Photo by David Katzenmaier, courtesy of App State Athletics
Forward Rylan Moffitt helped the Mountaineers to a 13-point lead with 5-for-5 shooting in the second quarter, finishing the game 7-of-7 and a team-high 15 points. The 6-0 junior forward is in her second year playing for the Mountaineers, after transferring from Daytona State following her freshman campaign. After starting 31 of 32 games during 2023-24, this year she is coming off the bench as one of the Mountaineers’ top reserves. She is making the most of it, second on the team in rebounding only to starter Elena Pericic and still No. 5 on the team in scoring.
In the game’s critical moments at the end, it was senior point guard Eleyana Tafisi who provided a key play, drawing an offensive foul with just 12 seconds to play. Even still, Coastal Carolina couldn’t capitalize, the Chanticleers’ senior forward Jaylen Ponder unable to convert two free throws in the final seconds that likely would have tied the game at 62 and sent it into overtime. As it was, the Mountaineers’ Pericic was fouled after collecting the last free throw rebound and was fouled, upon which she made one of her final two shots from the charity stripe with six seconds remaining.
Rylan Moffitt scored a team-high 15 points in coming off the bench to lead App State past Coastal Carolina on Jan. 11. Photo by David Katzenmaier, courtesy of App State Athletics
The Chanticleers brought the ball up quickly on the inbound, desperate for a 3-pointer that would send the game into OT. But a strong defensive effort by the Mountaineers at midcourt produced a wild, even late attempt, icing the game for App State.
The win was doubly pleasant for Mountaineer basketball fans, who earlier had watched the men’s team dethrone the Dukes of James Madison, 86-66.
Up next, App State has a 2-game road swing, first in Norfolk, Va. facing Old Dominion on Jan. 15 (6:30 p.m.) and then on Jan. 18 at Marshall (Huntington, W.V.), with tipoff slated for 1 p.m. Both games will be televised on ESPN+.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Visiting James Madison men’s basketball became their own worst enemy on Jan. 11 at the Holmes Convocation Center — and App State took advantage in carving out a dominating, 86-66 victory in front of 2,405.
CJ Huntley winds up for a tomahawk slam dunk vs. James Madison on Jan. 11, in App State’s 86-66 win at the Holmes Convocation Center. Photo courtesy of App State Athletics
Thanks largely to the Dukes’ turnovers (10 in the first half alone), the Mountaineers gained early momentum, including separation on the scoreboard midway through the opening half, but it was an 11-0 run just before intermission that arguably drove a dagger into the hearts of the visitors. The scoring burst, capped by a 3-pointer by CJ Huntley just 10 seconds ahead of the buzzer sent App State into their locker room at halftime with a commanding, 49-30 lead.
The Mountaineers may well have played their most complete game of the 2024-25 season, a third consecutive Sun Belt Conference win confirming that the players are finally “gelling” at just the right time, with lots of league play still ahead of them.
“Gelling” is not always a given with a team makeover. The revamped roster from last year’s regular season Sun Belt champs features only three players from a year ago. The rest are either freshmen or acquired through the transfer portal. And this demonstrated, midseason success serves to confirm the high performance quality of the Mountaineer staff, led by head coach Dustin Kerns, both in terms of recruitment in the modern world of college basketball as well as coaching.
Two of those returnees from 2023-24’s championship season, forward CJ Huntley guard Myles Tate, tied for game-high scoring honors with 21 points apiece. Huntley also pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds. Tate recorded game-high honors in both assists (7) and steals (3, tied with App State’s Jackson Threadgill).
A newcomer transfer from Stephen F. Austin University, senior forward Jalil Beaubrun was a key contributor with 16 points.
Myles Tate (12) leads the team off the floor after App State’s 86-66 win over James Madison on Jan. 11. Photo courtesy of App State Athletics
Among the most impressive stats for the Mountaineers is the rebounding performance of guards Tate and Alonzo Dodd. While cleaning the glass is usually a job reserved for the big guys, the two App State backcourt playmakers combined for 14 rebounds, 7 each, to deprive the Dukes of offensive opportunities.
Have we mentioned yet that the Mountaineers were locked in on their offensive end’s basket? The team’s overall field goal percentage was a stunning 54 percent (28-of-52) and 59 percent from behind the 3-point arc (10-of-17).
If James Madison had a bright spot, it was in the form of senior starting senior Elijah Hutchins-Everett and his inside presence. A year ago, the 6-11, 260 lb. big man was playing for Seton Hall and the two years before that at Austin Peay. With star senior guard Mark Freeman in foul trouble and benched for much of the game, the Dukes turned to Hutchins-Everett for much of their firepower.
With the win, App State moves to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in Sun Belt Conference play. Next for the Mountaineers is a 4-game road swing, starting with at Old Dominion (Jan. 16, 7 p.m.), at James Madison (Jan. 18, 4 p.m.), at Arkansas State (Jan. 23, 9 p.m. ET), and at ULM (Jan. 25, 3 p.m. ET).
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Four Mountaineers got into double figures scoring but it was not enough to overcome a tough-minded Troy women’s basketball team on Jan. 9. The Trojans led by as many as 17 points late in the fourth quarter and stopped App State’s 3-game winning streak with a dominating, 85-68 win.
The Mountaineers had few answers for Trojan starting forward Zay Dyer, a 6-2 junior from Atlanta. Dyer recorded a double-double with game-highs in scoring 22 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.
Troy’s senior starting guard Ashley Baez, a Dominican Republic native and transfer from Florida Gulf Coast, was also a strong contributor with 20 points and a game-high four steals.
A bright spot for the Mountaineers was the play of guard Zada Porter, here shooting from long range early in the first half. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country SportsJunior guard Emily Hege, a Lexington, N.C. native and transfer this year from DII-level Wingate, takes aim from the free throw line on Jan. 9 vs. Troy. She was a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Troy won the opening tipoff and quickly built a 5-point lead just three minutes into the first period. The slow-starting Mountaineers battled back to tie the game at 10-10, went ahead 14-12 with 1:23 left in the opening quarter, and the two teams battled to a 16-16 tie at quarter’s end.
An 8-0 run by Troy to open the second period gave the visitors from Alabama a measure of momentum and they never gave it back. They led 42-31 at halftime, 67-54 at the end of the third quarter, and finished off the Mountaineers in the fourth quarter, outpointing App State, 18-14 in the final stanza to get to the eventual outcome.
App State created a lot of opportunities with 28 defensive rebounds and limiting the Trojans to just seven offensive rebounds, but could not capitalize. They were victims of their own making in many respects, all too frequently missing layups and lackluster ball-handing coming up court. Those missed layups proved costly as Troy finished the game with 39 defensive rebounds vs. 16 offensive rebounds by App State.
Troy dominated in the paint, scoring 42 points vs. the Mountaineers’ 26 and the Trojans also were more effective in transition outpointing their hosts, 16-4 on fastbreaks. Troy’s reserves also were more productive, contributing 23 points vs. just 11 points produced by the Mountaineer bench.
The brightest spot on the court for App State was starting guard Zada Porter, who poured in a team-high 18 points, including hitting on 4-of-8 shots from behind the 3-point arc. Others in double figures for the Mountaineers were Elena Pericic (10 points), Eleyana Tafisi (11 points) and Emily Hege (10 points).
Even down by as many as 17 points late, the estimated “Education Day” crowd of more than 400 that braved the snowy elements to be in attendance witnessed a team that fought hard to the bitter end, even if the outcome was not in their favor. The hustle and work ethic were ever present — the shots just didn’t go in.
The Mountaineer women will try to get back on track Jan. 11 in the back end of a hoops doubleheader. The App State men tipoff against James Madison at the Holmes Center at 1 p.m., followed by the App State women hosting Coastal Carolina.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Jumping out to an an 11 point lead by the halfway mark of the first half is a good start. Keeping the pedal to the proverbial medal and winning by 23 points is even better. App State led from start to finish on Jan. 8, defeating Coastal Carolina, 74-51.
Grad student forward C J Huntley recorded yet another double-double, pouring in 21 points while collecting 15 rebounds. The Huntersville native warmed up the crowd on this snowy night (paid attendance: 1,703), bringing to their feet and appreciative roars with three dunks.
Senior guard Myles Tate burned the net for 17 points and distributed a game-high seven assists and two steals. Forward Jalil Beaubrun was also in double digits scoring, with 11 points.
Six threes from our bigs… that’s big!
Head coach Dustin Kerns used an eight-man rotation against the Chanticleers, with Huntley (38 minutes) and Tate (35) doing yeoman’s work on the floor. As the sixth man, guard Jackson Threadgill came off the bench to be part of the mix for 25 minutes, while guards Alonzo Dodd (21 minutes) and Dior Connors (25 minutes) joined Beaubrun (22 minutes) as the principal players in the rotation. Freshman big man Michael Marcus, Jr. (14 minutes, 8 points) and Jamil Muttlib (12 minutes, 4 points) were the only other Mountaineers to see meaningful court time.
The Mountaineers started the game with a 24-7 run, with contributions from a broad array of scorers including Beaubrun, Huntley, Tate, Marcus, Threadgill and Muttilib. App State played almost error-free, committing just six turnovers while distributing the ball freely, generating 14 assists.
Meanwhile, the Mountaineers capitalized on 11 Chanticleer turnovers, scoring 14 points off Coastal miscues. They also had control of the inside, outrebounding the visitors 40-33, with a 30-24 advantage for points in the paint.
With 21 points and 15 rebounds, CJ Huntley recorded his second consecutive double-double.
Led by Marcus and Muttilib, App State’s bench was the biggest factor in recent memory, contributing 16 points.
With two Sun Belt Conference wins in a row now in the books, the Mountaineers have evened their record in league play at 2-2, and improved overall to 8-7. Responding to a media question in the post-game press conference, Beaubrun pointed out, “In the 4-game losing streak before these two wins, those were some pretty good teams and they were all close games. We knew we just a couple of plays away and the last two games we made those plays. We are breaking through. Now we have to keep it up.”
Head coach Dustin Kerns was also upbeat.
“From start to finish, that was the most complete game we have played, on both sides of the floor… Coastal Carolina is a good team. They are well-coached in Year 1 (of new head coach Justin Gray). They rank really high in a lot of categories, especially defensively, which presents some problems,” said Kerns.
Now in his sixth year at the helm of the Mountaineer program, Kerns had special praise for forwards Huntley and Marcus, who combined for six of the team’s successful shots from beyond the arc.
“Six threes from our bigs… That may be one of the things (Coastal) is willing to live with, to give up. Fortunately for us, we made them,” said Kerns.
Left unsaid: when your bigs are dominating inside and taking command from outside, too, it becomes a powerful offensive combination.
App State will conclude its longest home stand of the season (four games) on Saturday, Jan. 11, vs. James Madison with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m., the front side of a matinee doubleheader also featuring the App State women’s tilt at 3:30 p.m., vs. Coastal Carolina.
The Mountaineers’ men look to extend their winning ways before a 4-game road trip that includes at Old Dominion (Jan. 16), at James Madison (Jan. 18), and a nationally televised faceoff with Arkansas State (Jan. 23), then concluding with a Jan. 25 contest at ULM (Louisiana-Monroe).
Meanwhile the App State women’s team is currently undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play at 3-0, playing some exciting basketball under new head coach Alaura Sharp. The distaff version of the Mountaineers dispatched Arkansas State, (at) South Alabama, and (at) Southern Miss, returning home to host Troy on Jan. 9 (12 noon), before playing Coastal Carolina on Jan. 11.
By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — It might have been freezing cold outside but inside the Holmes Convocation Center on Jan. 4, it was hot, hot, hot for the App State men’s basketball team. The Mountaineers shot almost 53 percent from the field and over 54 percent from beyond the arc en route to a convincing, 72-61 win over Texas State, with 2,512 in attendance.
Coming into the game, App State was ranked No. 28 out of the 355 NCAA Division I programs in field goal percentage defense — and they didn’t disappoint vs. the Bobcats. The Mountaineers held Texas State to just 37.7 percent from the field, including 36.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
The App State cheerleaders and fans had a lot to smile about after the team’s 72-61 victory over Texas State at the Holmes Center. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
In getting a first Sun Belt Conference win for the 2024-25 season, App State had three players in double figures, including a game-high 22 points by Myles Tate. The senior guard from Spartanburg, S.C. (Dorman HS) was good on 4-of-6 from beyond the arc (67 percent, 12 points). Tate played his first three seasons at Butler University before transferring to App State a year ago. In addition to racking up his third straight 20-point game, Tate was strong on the boards against the Bobcats, collecting seven rebounds on the night. Even while earning game-high scoring honors, he also dished out a game-high six assists and plucked two steals.
Grad student forward CJ Huntley was celebrated on Jan. 2 for having scored his 1,000th career point for the Mountaineers. As unlikely as it might sound to those who have watched the Huntersville, N.C. native’s previous four years playing for App State, against Texas State he recorded his first double-double, with 10 rebounds and 12 points. Huntley and Tate were both on the court for more than 35 minutes. During that time, the Davidson Day School alum made four of five free throw attempts for one of his best nights from the charity stripe.
Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
Also scoring in double figures for the Mountaineers against the Bobcats was Alonzo Dodd, a junior guard from St. Paul, Minn., with 14 points, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Dodd, who played his first two years at Texas A&M-Commerce, also was credited for six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” said App State head coach Dustin Kerns in opening his post-game press conference. “We beat a really quality team (in Texas State)… They have had some really good wins this year. We led for 37 minutes (36:58), but we had a really complete game. Our bench helped us, our starters played well. We had to make some adjustments against (Tyrel) Morgan, who has been averaging 17 points a night. He got 16 tonight. They were going small with him and it created some matchup problems, but we adjusted to that.”
Not surprisingly, App State forward CJ Huntley (15) was awarded a pair of free throws on this shot attempt. He made 4-of-5 on the night, on his way to a first career double-double (10 rebounds, 12 points). Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
The sense of relief in getting the 2024-25 season’s first Sun Belt Conference win was evident in Kerns, now in his sixth season at the helm of the Mountaineers. With almost an entirely new roster of players after last year’s regular season Sun Belt Championship, it has taken some time for things to “gel” for App State.
“We finished off the game well,” said Kerns, comparing the most recent win to the last four losses. “We’ve been playing really good teams and fighting hard, but we got through today.”
Coach Kerns makes a point to one of the officials during the Mountaineers’ 72-61 win over Texas State on Jan. 4. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
In describing his expectations going into the game vs. the Bobcats, Kerns offered some details.
“If you look at some net numbers, this was the No. 3 ranked team in the Sun Belt going into today. So it is a really quality team. They are a team that ranks in the top 50 in the country in setting ball screens. They are really dynamic with it and one of the reasons we started in zone (defense) to change up. I don’t think we have done that in six years, but it was to not let them get into a rhythm, ball screen wise. We gave up some rebounds, then went to a man-to-man defense which was good for us,” said Kerns.
CJ Huntley puts a shot up and in vs. Texas State on Jan. 4, 2025. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports
“Texas State is also a team that shoots the three pretty well,” added Kerns, “but they don’t shoot a lot of them… We did a pretty good job of forcing them to shoot threes. They don’t normally have 22 attempts (from behind the arc).
“The stat we really harped on with the guys is (Texas State) is undefeated when they get 13 or more offensive rebounds,” Kerns added. “But the flip side of that is they haven’t won when they get eight or under offensive rebounds. We held them to eight (tonight). Our guys did a really good job on the glass.”
Kerns noted that Texas State is also one of the top teams in the country in getting to the free throw line — and making them. Against App State, the Bobcats shot 100 percent from the charity stripe, but only had seven opportunities.
“I thought our guys did a really good job at not fouling and holding them to only seven free throws,” said Kerns.
App State (7-7 overall) will stay at home for its next two conference tilts, Jan. 8 vs. Coastal Carolina (6:30 p.m. tipoff) and Jan. 11 vs. James Madison (1 p.m.).
The Chanticleers join a total of seven Sun Belt teams, including App State, at 1-2 in conference play, but are 8-7 overall with key wins vs. Western Michigan, South Carolina-Upstate, Alabama A&M, Campbell and Louisiana-Monroe (ULM).
JMU is one of four teams at 2-1, tied for second in the Sun Belt and 9-6 overall. Key wins include vs. Ohio, East Tennessee State, and conference wins at home against Southern Miss and Arkansas State.
