Mountaineers Stumble Against Trojans in Long-Awaited Homecoming Clash

BOONE, N.C. –  In a game that ebbed and flowed with the lead shifting eight times, a late 12-4 surge from the Troy Trojans (9-4, 2-0 SBC) enabled them to distance themselves from App State (6-7, 0-2 SBC) and secure a 69-61 victory in Boone on Thursday. The Mountaineers experienced a scoring drought in the closing minutes, while Troy managed to find its rhythm and pull away.
 
The contest was closely contested throughout, with both teams holding a lead for no less than 15 minutes during the game. Each team also surged ahead by a minimum of seven points and executed runs of at least 10-0. Following a pattern established in previous encounters between App State and Troy, the margin was within 10 points, marking the third occasion in the last four matchups that the game concluded with a margin of 10 points or fewer.
 
Against the Trojans, App State had two players achieve double-digit scoring in Myles Tate and Jalil Beaubrun. Tate notched 20 points, marking his fifth game this season with at least 20 points, while Beaubrun contributed 12 points and seven rebounds. Despite the contributions of the starting lineup, the Mountaineer bench struggled to make an impact, contributing only four of App State’s 61 total points.
 
Troy had an impressive performance from beyond the arc on Thursday, making a season-high 12 three-pointers. The Trojans entered the game against the Mountaineers shooting 28.5 percent from three, but two critical shots from long range late in the game allowed them to gain an advantage.
 
How it Unfolded
In what was App State’s first home game in 30 days, the Trojans, along with Marcus Rigsby Jr., initiated the scoring in the Holmes Center as the junior drained the first of 12 Trojan threes. In response, CJ Huntley converted a couple of free throws before Tate’s first three-pointer of the game propelled the Mountaineers in front at the 17:57 mark of the first half.
 
A turnover generated by the Mountaineers’ defense led to a layup from Beaubrun on the opposite end, putting App State ahead by four. Following Beaubrun’s layup, the Mountaineers forced two more turnovers on consecutive possessions, and Alonzo Dodd took advantage with a three-pointer from the corner, giving the Mountaineers a 10-3 lead at the first media timeout. Dodd’s three capped a 10-0 run for App State.
 
Using the timeout to regroup, Troy scored seven of the next 10 points to close the gap to two by the 12:40 mark. Tayton Conerway and Myles Rigsby played pivotal roles in the Trojan run as the Mountaineers’ offense struggled temporarily.
 
App State’s lead was trimmed to just one point after Rigsby Jr.’s floater fell, but Beaubrun and Tate regrouped and scored a couple of baskets to put the Mountaineers back in front by five. After a basket for Troy, a smooth pick-and-pop exchange between Tate and Michael Marcus Jr. resulted in a three-pointer that extended the Mountaineers’ lead back to six with under eight minutes remaining.
 
Finding open opportunities from outside, the Trojans sank two consecutive three-pointers, tying the game at 20 just before the under-eight timeout. Following the timeout, Troy made another three, and Conerway concluded a 12-0 run with 4:34 left in the first half, propelling Troy ahead by six, their largest lead at that point. Dior Conners interrupted the Trojans’ scoring surge with a three-pointer of his own, but Troy quickly regained a seven-point lead thanks to baskets from Rigsby and Theo Seng.
 
The Mountaineers finished the first half on a high note, with their last three possessions resulting in thunderous dunks. Initially, Huntley received a pocket pass from Dodd and executed a powerful slam. Beaubrun then followed Huntley’s dunk with a massive one-handed dunk after faking out his defender at the top of the key. A jumper from Rigsby capped Troy’s scoring for the half, but an alley-oop dunk by Huntley finalized the first half’s excitement. When the halftime buzzer sounded, Troy was ahead by three.
 
The Trojans’ sharp shooting characterized the first half in Boone, as they achieved 48 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. App State fell short, recording only 38 percent from the field to start the half. Nonetheless, the Mountaineers capitalized on seven Troy turnovers, converting them into 12 points off the Trojans’ errors in the first half.
 
Upon resuming after halftime, App State quickly regained a narrow lead, thanks to a three-pointer from Conners at the 17:01 mark. The Mountaineers successfully made each of their first three attempts to start the half. After a temporary scoring drought persisted between both teams, Troy seized a one-point lead heading into the under-16 timeout, as Seng and Jerrell Bellamy added baskets.
 
App State reclaimed the lead by one after the brief pause, but a three-pointer from Victor Valdes initiated yet another lead change early in the half. Dodd’s left-handed layup knotted the game up with 11 minutes remaining, but this was quickly countered by Conerway’s three-pointer that allowed Troy to regain the lead.
 
Once Troy established a five-point lead post the under-eight timeout, Tate and Conners collaborated to score the next five points, evening the game at 52 apiece with 7:03 left to play. A couple of quick baskets from Troy propelled them ahead by three, but Beaubrun’s dunk brought the game to the final media timeout, with the Mountaineers trailing by just one.
 
Troy began to extend their lead in the latter stages as Conerway connected on another three-pointer, and Rigsby Jr.’s basket gave the Trojans a six-point lead with 90 seconds remaining in regulation. A three-pointer from Tate reduced the Mountaineers’ deficit back to three, but Troy’s 12th three-pointer of the game restored their six-point lead with only 42 seconds left.
 
A pair of free throws from Tate kept the Mountaineers within the contest late, but four consecutive free throws from the Trojans sealed their eight-point victory.
 
Top Performers 
Continuing his recent impressive run, Tate recorded his second consecutive 20-point game and the fifth of the year against the Trojans, finishing with 20 points. Additionally, he recorded five assists and four steals. Beaubrun achieved his first double-digit performance at home as a Mountaineer, racking up 12 points and seven rebounds. He also contributed two rim-rattling dunks that energized the Mountaineer crowd. Making his second straight start, Dodd had a versatile game against the Trojans, scoring eight points, grabbing five rebounds, distributing a season-high seven assists, and registering three steals.
 
Up Next
The Mountaineers will continue their four-game homestand on Saturday as they host the Texas State Bobcats at the Holmes Center. The tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN+.
 
The 2024-25 men’s basketball season is sponsored by Foscoe Companies.