Methodist was stayed within striking distance throughout the contest at the Holmes Center, but the homestanding Mountaineers had too much firepower in winning 87-69. The defeat drops Methodist to 2-3 overall.
Despite the defeat, Methodist has plenty to build on with this game. The Monarchs committed only 13 turnovers against an athletic Appalachian State squad, and were only out-rebounded 41-39 against the taller Mountaineers. In addition, Methodist had 20 offensive rebounds and a balanced scoring attack with five players scoring in double-figures. Defensively, Methodist limited Mountaineer standout point guard D.J. Thompson to only six points.
The big difference was Appalachian State’s offense, especially from the perimeter. The Mountaineers hit 13-for-29 from 3-point range for 45 percent.
Methodist led 4-3 early before Appalachian State’s Nathan Cranford starting heating up from the perimeter. The junior southpaw guard drained five 3-point baskets in a five-minute span to give the Mountaineers a 22-15 lead with 13:56 remaining in the first half.
Appalachian State padded the lead with two inside baskets by Tyler Webb. Jarvis Jackson’s 3-point basket at the 10:29 mark increased the Mountaineer lead to 31-17.
Slowly, however, Methodist crept back into it. Trailing 35-19, the Monarchs went on a 13-5 run to trim the deficit to 40-32. Marcus Hairston and Fred McDonald each had transition lay-ups, and a jump shot by McDonald cut the Appalachian State lead to 37-29 with 4:30 remaining.
McDonald then drilled a 3-point basket to make the score 40-32 with 3:42 remaining. However, a late scoring flury by the Mountaineers stretched the Appalachian State lead to 46-33 at halftime.
The closest Methodist was able to get in the second half was 11 points, 61-50 on Eugene Grant’s lay-up with 10:50 remaining. But the Mountaineers responded with an 8-2 run as Eduardo Bermudez scored twice inside to give Appalachian State a 69-52 lead with 8:40 remaining.
Appalachian State’s largest lead of the game was 20 points, 82-62 on an A.J. Highsmith 3-point basket at the 2:48 mark.
Grant, McBryde and McDonald each scored 11 points for the Monarchs, while Brandon Williams and Dragan Radmanovic both scored 10 points. Hairston added nine points for Methodist. Cranford scored 20 points on 6-for-9 from 3-point range for Appalachian State (3-2), followed by Doug McLaughlin-Williams scored 17 points.
Methodist plays its home opener on Sunday at 4 p.m. against Maryville at the Riddle Center.