Appalachian State Basketball

The Citadel (6-19, 3-12 SoCon) at Appalachian State (12-14, 8-7 SoCon)

Feb. 20, 2013, 8:00 p.m.

Boone, N.C., Holmes Convocation Center (8,549)

Game Preview:

Appalachian State will open a three-game home slate, which will carry the Mountaineers into the 2013 Southern Conference Tournament as they head down the stretch in control of their own destiny.

With three wins, the Mountaineers will likely finish second in the North Divison, which will allow the Apps to garner one of the Top four seeds for the nation's oldest postseason conference tournament coming up in a couple of weeks.

The Mountaineers come into Wednesday night's action against The Citadel coming off a huge league win, as the Black and Gold went on the road and claimed a huge 76-68 win over The Citadel Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon to close out the road slate and complete the season sweep of the UNCG Spartans.

That win allowed the Mountaineers to remain in the middle of the North Division logjam, which includes a trio of teams vying for that all-important No. 4 seed in the Southern Conference Tournament, as the Mountaineers are now tied for third place in the SoCon North with Western Carolina, while Samford sits a half-game ahead of ASU, but the Samford Bulldogs pay a visit to the Holmes Convocation Center on Feb. 28 in what figures to be another monumental Southern Conference North Division clash.

After Wednesday night's contest between the Bulldogs and Mountaineers, ASU will have an eight-day lay-off before hitting the hardwood once again for that game against Samford.

Wednesday's meeting between the Mountaineers and Bulldogs will mark the 76th all-time clash between the two schools on the basketball hardwood, and the only regular-season meeting between the two this season. The Mountaineers hold a commanding 51-24 all-time series advantage against the Bulldogs, including a solid 28-6 all-time series edge in Boone. 

The Bulldogs, however, have been dominant in the series since the 2008-09 season, having claimed five of the last seven matchups between the two programs, including all three meetings between the two in the 2008-09 season. Prior to The Citadel's recent run of success against the Mountaineers, ASU had claimed 17-straight victories against the Bulldogs. 

The Citadel will be looking to put an end to a four-game losing streak, which was preceded by back-to-back conference wins, accounting for two of the Bulldogs' three wins in Southern Conference play this season. The Bulldogs dropped their latest game at home to the Davidson Wildcats on Saturday night, with a 72-57 setback to the Wildcats. 

In the lone meeting between the Mountaineers and Bulldogs last season at McAlister Field House on the campus of The Citadel, the Bulldogs claimed their third in final Southern Conference win of the 2011-12 season, with a 62-51 win over the Mountaineers on Feb. 22, 2012.

The Bulldogs got great play out of their front court, with a trio totaling double figures in the win, led by Mike Groselle's 18 points, while Bo Holston added his first career double-double, with 13 points and 10 boards, while C.J. Bray rounded out the double figure scorers with 10 points.

It was a night in which the Mountaineers struggled shooting the basketball to say the least, as the Mountaineers had one of their worst shooting performances of the season with a 35.7-percent clip (20-of-57) from the field for the game. Leading the scoring efforts for the Mountaineers was Nathan Healy's 19 points.   

Both teams have pretty solid guard play, with Appalachian State seemingly having an advantage in the front court, with the ability to platoon players in the low post. The Bulldogs, who suffered an early-season injury to C.J. Bray at Charleston Southern ending his season prematurely, don't enjoy that same luxury.

Leading the Appalachian State backcourt this season have been point guard Mike Neal (8.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 60 assists) and shooting guard Tab Hamilton (9.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG). Neal has had some strong performances in the ASU lineup this season, and he is coming off a 10-point, six-assist performance in the win at UNCG on Sunday afternoon.  Neal has eight double-figure scoring efforts this season for ASU, with his top scoring performance coming in an 80-70 win over Elon in Boone, posting a season-high 19 points in the win.

Hamilton is one of the Mountaineers' top perimeter shooters this season, having knocked down 43 trifectas this season for Jason Capel's Mountaineers. Hamilton has 12 double-figure scoring performances this season for the Apps, but has been held under double digits in each of the last four outings for ASU, including scoring just seven points in the win at UNCG on Sunday. Hamilton posted a season-high 21 points in a loss at Chattanooga back in January. 

Set to provide depth in the backcourt on Wednesday night will be Chris Burgess (3.0 PPG,1.0 RPG, 41 assists), who will back up Neal at the point guard position, and will be most remembered for his three-pointer in the waning moments of the first overtime win by ASU over Georgia Southern this season, while Frank Eaves (2.3 PPG, 0.3 RPG) and Jamaal Trice (6.1 PPG, 2.0 RPG) will see action at shooting guard. 

The Citadel brings a solid backcourt contingent to Boone for the mid-week SoCon North-South clash, with Marshall Harris III (6.5 PPG, 5.0 APG) slated to start at the point guard for the Bulldogs, while he will likely be joined by Raemond Robinson (3.6 PPG, 1.6 RPG) who started the last game out for the Bulldogs against Davidson. 

Harris has been the straw that stirs the drink for the Bulldogs this season, and he comes in leading the conference in helpers dished out per game this season, averaging 5.0 assists per outing. Robinson was effective in the Bulldogs' last game against the Wildcats, as he posted eight points, seven assists and four rebounds in the loss. Harris, meanwhile, had five points and three assists in the contest against the Wildcats on Saturday.

Rounding out the starting trio in the backcourt for the Bulldogs on Wednesday night against the Mountaineers will be one of the league's most impressive freshman to this point in the season, in Matt Van Scyoc (10.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG), who is one of three Bulldog players who enters the contest averaging in double figures.

Van Scyoc's greatest asset is his ability to shoot the three, having connected on a team-best 48 triples so far this season, and is shooting 36.9-percent (48-of-130) from three-point range this season. He drained a pair of three-pointers in the loss at Davidson, while also finished with three assists and a pair of blocked shots. Van Scyoc has 14 double-figure scoring performances this season, with three 20-point performances. His top game of the season came in the Bulldogs' first conference win at Georgia Southern back on Jan. 19, scoring 21 points, including going 5-for-8 from three-point range.

Off the bench in the Bulldogs' backcourt, look for Dylen Setzkorn (3.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG), Ashton Moore (6.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG) and Janeil Jenkins (2.6 PPG, 0.6 RPG) to log action off the bench. Jenkins recently became the seventh non-starter for the Bulldogs to notch a double-digit scoring effort this season, as he did so against Samford with 13 points in a loss.

Appalachian's front court has been one of the strengths for Jason Capel's club during the 2012-13 campaign, and the two main cogs in that front court are also making a strong bid for all-conference accolades this season, in Nathan Healy (14.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG) and Jay Canty (14.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG). 

Both have had outstanding seasons for the Apps, and for Healy, it has been the best of his four seasons in Boone, as he has transitioned himself into a go-to-player for the Apps from a role player, which he was in his previous three seasons for the Apps. In the win over UNCG on Sunday afternoon, Healy added 16 points and six boards in the latest win over UNCG. 

Healy comes into the home stretch of his career, as he will be playing his final three games in the Black and Gold in front of the home folks at the Holmes Convocation Center, and in his senior season, he has 21 double-figure scoring performances this season, including scoring a season and career-high 24 points on four occasions this season, with his last 24-point effort coming in an overtime win at Georgia Southern a few weeks ago.

The Mountaineers are 3-1 in those games when Healy totals 24 points, with the only loss coming against East Carolina early in the season, with an 82-72 loss at East Carolina. The three wins when Healy scores 24 points have all come against SoCon foes. 

His 24-point effort against Western Carolina earlier this season was one of the best all-around efforts by any player in Division I college basketball this season, as he posted eight boards and a career-high and tied a school record with seven steals in the win over the Catamounts. No player in NCAA Division I Basketball has registered as complete a stat line in all categories this season. 

Canty originally transferred into ASU from Xavier and since has become one of the SoCon's top newcomers this season, and he enjoyed an outstanding effort in ASU's win over UNCG on Sunday afternoon, posting 17 points, nine boards and six assists, offering one of his more complete efforts of his career as a Mountaineer.

Canty, a 6-6, 200-pound native of Jamestown, N.C., has scored in double figures in six of his last seven outings for the Mountaineers. He battled some injury issues a couple of weeks ago, but is back to 100-percent now. He has 19 double-figure scoring performances this season for the Mountaineers, with his top effort of the season being a 29-point effort in a loss at Missouri. 

The third player in that ASU starting front court is Michael Obacha (5.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG), who  has improved as much as any player on the ASU roster from the beginning of the season until now. Obacha reminds me a lot of Healy early in his career, as he has shown glimpses of being a future scorer for the Mountaineers, but has shown that night-in and night-out he's going to bring the effort to the team.

Obacha had the best offensive game of his career last week in a win over Furman, posting 14 points and five boards, and has scored in double figures in two out of his last three games, including 11 points in the win at UNCG on Sunday. 

Tevin Baskin (10.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG) has molded himself into one of the best sixth men in Southern Conference Basketball this season, and has 14 double-figure efforts off the bench for the Mountaineers and he gives Jason Capel a solid answer off the bench in the front court when Healy or Canty need a breather, and there's little drop-off in terms of scoring production.

The Citadel brings a front court player in Mike Groselle (15.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG) to the Holmes Center, who is among the top low-post players in the SoCon and mid-major college basketball. Groselle is leading the league in field goal percentage (58.2%) this season, and that has helped the Bulldogs parlay that into 11 games in which the team has shot better than 50-percent from the field in a game this season. It became the first team in school history to accomplish that feat, surpassing the 2011-12 squad, which shot at a 50-percent clip or better in 10 games. 

Groselle was 10-of-14 from the field, scoring 21 points in the loss to Davidson Saturday night, and comes into Wednesday's game with 20 double-figure games this season for the Bulldogs. He posted a season-high 24 points in a 69-63 win over Wofford.

P.J. Horgan (11.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG) will team with Groselle in the paint, and Horgan has done a nice job of stepping into the starting five for the Bulldogs since the injury-bug affected the Bulldogs in the non-conference, with C.J. Bray going down with a season-ending injury in a loss at Charleston Southern. Horgan has scored in double figures for the Bulldogs in five out of the last six games, including a career-high 25 points in the loss at Chattanooga. 

Look for the Bulldogs to keep this close early, but ASU has too much to play for down the stretch to lose this game, and though the Bulldogs have been playing better, the Bulldogs lack the depth to be a factor down the stretch in this game. However, if ASU lets Groselle and Horgan get position underneath, then the Bulldogs have a shot at springing the road upset. ASU is 8-3 at the Holmes Center this season, including 5-1 in league play.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Appalachian State 74, The Citadel 64

Appalachian State (2-7, 0-1 SoCon) vs. South Carolina (6-3, 0-0 SEC)

When: Dec. 19, 2012, 5 p.m. ET

Where: Colonial Life Arena (18,000)

Preview: 

The Appalachian State Mountaineers will be looking to capture their second win in a row to complete a four-game road trip when they face the South Carolina Gamecocks in a nonconference battle on Wednesday evening at the Colonial Life Arena. 

The Mountaineers were able to snap a seven-game road-losing streak on Sunday afternoon by getting an 81-71 win at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A win over the Gamecocks on Wednesday would hand the Gamecocks a second loss this season to a team from the Southern Conference's North Division. South Carolina dropped a 65-53 decision to Phoenix on Nov. 21.

Wednesday night's meeting between the Mountaineers and Gamecocks marks the fourth all time in the series between the two schools, with the Gamecocks having claimed all three previous games. It marks the first meeting between the Mountaineers and Gamecocks since Dec. 1, 2004, when the Mountaineers lost 91-57 in Columbia.

South Carolina enters Wednesday's contest coming off a 91-74 win over Jacksonville 12 days ago, having taken a break for end-of-the-semester exams.

The Gamecocks are under the direction of Frank Martin, who is in his first season at the helm in Columbia since moving over from Kansas State.

Appalachian State was able to get the victory on the road on Sunday, getting some big production out of junior forward Tevin Baskin, who posted 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field while snagging four rebounds in the win over the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos.

Baskin led four Mountaineers in double figures in the contest, as he was joined by Tab Hamilton (17 points), Jamaal Trice (16 points) and Jay Canty (12 points). 

In their last game against the Jacksonville Dolphins, the Gamecocks were paced by Michael Carrera with 17 points. He was joined in double figures by Brian Richardson (16 points), Brenton Williams (12 points) and Bruce Ellington (12 points). 

The Mountaineers enter the Wednesday early-evening contest being led by Jay Canty (17.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG), who is the No. 2 scorer in the Southern Conference this season. He has been the league's most dynamic newcomer this season after transferring in from Xavier.

Canty is a pure scorer, and he marks a trend of successful transfers who have made their home with the Appalachian State basketball program, including players like Omar Carter from Charleston Southern (2011-12) and Donte Minter (2006-07) from Virginia. Both of those players were all-league performers.

Canty, a 6'6" guard/forward, is one of the most athletic players in the Southern Conference and has scored in double figures in seven of 10 games this season, including six straight double-figure scoring performances. His best performance of the campaign came against Missouri, when he posted 29 points in the 72-56 loss to the Tigers.

Joining Canty in the Appalachian starting lineup will be Hamilton (12.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG) and Trice (8.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG). Canty is a good ball-handler who has had to handle some of the point-guard responsibilities after Mike Neal was sidelined with an injury.

Appalachian State has been led from the perimeter by Hamilton, who comes into the contest having nailed 19 triples and is shooting a sizzling 45.2 percent (19-of-42) from the perimeter. That percentage currently ranks him sixth in three-point percentage in the Southern Conference.

In the paint, Appalachian State is led by Michael Obacha (4.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG) and Nathan Healy (13.2 PPG. 5.7 RPG). Obacha is active and athletic in the paint and is one of the hardest workers on the team. Much like Healy, Obacha is a scrappy player with the uncanny ability to get to loose balls and is active at getting his hands in passing lanes for deflections.

Healy is having his best season for the Mountaineers in 2012-13, and he has become one of the team's most reliable scorers, having developed a nice mid-range game.     

The Mountaineers have gotten good minutes off the bench from Baskin (7.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG) and freshman point guard Chris Burgess (3.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG). Burgess has been able to provide some good depth with the absence of Neal. 

Appalachian State enters Wednesday night's game averaging 72.6 PPG to rank third in the Southern Conference in scoring average. However, the Mountaineers have struggled defensively, as they yield 77.3 PPG, ranking them No. 11 out of 12 teams so far this season. The Mountaineers shoot 43.8 percent from the field to rank fifth overall in the conference in field-goal percentage.

South Carolina enters Wednesday night's clash being led by guard Brenton Williams (13.2 PPG, 2.1 RPG) and small forward Michael Carrera (11.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG).

Williams has been the key offensively for the Gamecocks this season, having scored in double figures in seven games. His top performance was against Rider in a Gamecocks win, when he posted 22 points. He has a team-leading 16 trifectas this season and is shooting 50 percent (16-of-34) from three-point range.

Carrera has not been too far behind Williams on the scoring trail this season, and he has scored in double figures in four of the six games he has seen action in for the Gamecocks. He leads the team with eight rebounds per game. His 17 points and 15 boards in the season-opening win over Milwaukee were enough to garner him SEC Freshman of the Week honors. 

Joining Williams in the backcourt will be junior point guard Eric Smith (6.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG). He enjoyed his best game of the season in a 10-point win over Morgan State, posting 17 points. His seven assists the last time out against Jacksonville also represented a season high.

Carrera will be joined in the low post by RJ Slawson (3.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG) and Lakeem Jackson (9.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG). Jackson and Slawson are two solid role players on the interior for South Carolina. Jackson is on the cusp of averaging in double figures for the Gamecocks with four double-digit scoring performances. He enjoyed his top performance of the season against Elon University, posting 14 points.

The top players coming off the pine for Martin's Gamecocks are guards Bruce Ellington (11.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG) and LaShay Page (12.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG).

Since joining the team from football, Ellington has scored in double figures twice in his three games, posting 12 points in back-to-back games against Jacksonville and Clemson. South Carolina is simply a better basketball team with Ellington in the lineup. 

Page, who will play one of the wing positions off the bench, has started all eight games he has played in this season. Page missed the last game against Jacksonville, but like Ellington he is a pure scorer. His top performance came against Missouri State, when he posted 22 points. 

This should be a good contest, as the Mountaineers have gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Missouri, Virginia Tech and East Carolina before losing those games in heartbreaking fashion. The Mountaineers will keep it close but will lose this one by the seven- to 10-point range. The Mountaineers are improving with each game and should be a factor in the North Division by the time league play begins in earnest in 2013. 

Final Score Prediction: South Carolina 68, Appalachian State 62

Just a few days after Buzz Peterson bolted from Appalachian State and headed to greener financial pastures at UNC Wilmington, the Mountaineers found their new head coach in former UNC forward Jason Capel.

Capel was an assistant coach under Peterson at App State, arriving on campus last June. Capel’s older brother Jeff is the current head coach at Oklahoma, while his father continues to work as an assistant for the Charlotte Bobcats.

It’s not a pick without some head scratching.

Capel’s entire coaching experience is the work he’s done at ASU since last June. Prior to that, he was a broadcast announcer for two seasons.

Jason Capel’s experience as a player includes four years at UNC, including a Final Four appearance in 2000, then playing professionally in Serbia, Japan, Italy, and the NBDL.

One thing is certain: Capel’s family coaching tree is nothing to take lightly.

His father was a solid college coach in his own right before deciding to move to the NBA, and his brother Jeff, probably more famous in the ACC for his nearly half court shot in 1995 against UNC, has proven his merit at Oklahoma.

Appalachian may be hoping to find the next Brad Stevens before someone else does, but it’s a gamble nonetheless.

Capel was outspoken and a leader as a player, playing on a Final Four team and then only two years later landing on the worst team in UNC history, a team that only won eight games.

Jason returned the next season to encourage the newly arriving players, which included Raymond Felton, Sean May, and Rashad McCants, to bring the UNC program back to it’s former heights.

Perhaps Appalachian has spotted Capel’s abilities after less than a year, or perhaps they are banking on the coaching success his brother and father have had, but it’s interesting that this time the school decided not to draw the process out.

Last season’s long process to bring Buzz Peterson back to Boone has had an effect that they did not want repeated, and now Capel can get in a few days of recruiting in a window of time that is quickly closing.

College of Charleston Cougars (18-7, 10-7) at Appalachian State (10-14, 7-9)

Monday, Feb. 16, 2009 – 7:30 p.m. EST

The College of Charleston Cougars, coming off of a devastating home loss to The Citadel on Saturday, venture to Boone, N.C. for a Monday night game with the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

The Cougars blew an eight point first half lead against the Bulldogs and then watched as The Citadel pulled away in the second half for the 14-point win and a sweep of the season series.

The loss proved even more costly since Davidson star Stephen Curry suffered an ankle injury in a game on Saturday. The Cougars could’ve pulled closer to the Wildcats in an effort to overtake them for first place.

Much like they did in their first game against the Bulldogs, Charleston shot poorly—6-of-21—from three-point range. Unlike the prior game, The Citadel hammered Charleston on the backboards, 38-21. To complicate matters, the Cougars’ defense was lacking as the Bulldogs made 51 percent of their shots.

Appalachian State, returning home after three straight road games, also enters the contest on a down note having dropped two in a row and three of their last four. The Mountaineers trail Samford by a half game for third place in the North Division.

This will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Charleston notched an eight point victory, 88-80, in the first game.

Two critical factors, overall field goal percentage and three point shots, determined the outcome of the first game between the two teams.

The Cougars made 55.6 percent of their overall shots including a blistering 52.4 percent—11-of-21—of their triples.

Leading scorer Andrew Goudelock bagged 33 points for the Cougars. The sophomore guard was 12-of-15 from the field, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc. And just for good measure, the sharp shooter was perfect from the free throw line, making all three of his attempts.

Not to be outdone, the Mountaineers had five players score in double figures, with a high of 15 points from Donald Sims.

If Appalachian State plans to turn the tables on Charleston, they’ll need to buckle down on defense and not allow the Cougars to convert at such a high rate.

And when they’re on offense, they’ll need to improve on their own three-point shooting as they managed a meager 30 percent in the first encounter.

Current line: Appalachian State -1.5

Charleston is 8-10 against the spread with a record of 3-2 as an underdog.

Appalachian State is 8-10 against the spread with a record of 3-2 as the favorite.

After suffering a tough loss in such a big game on their home floor, will Charleston be motivated to play a team that it already beat this season?

The Mountaineers on the other hand, will certainly be looking for payback. They’ll get it.

Steve’s pick: Appalachian State -1.5