George
M. Holmes Convocation Center opening successful in spite of Appalachian's
loss to UNC Tar Heels, 99-69
Chris Boyce
- Varsity Sports
It was a night
of firsts for Appalachian State University basketball.
An unprecedented
8,325 basketball fans and arch-nemesis University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill (UNC) gathered in the sparkling new George M. Holmes
Convocation Center on the night of Nov. 17 to usher in a new era
in Old North State basketball.
By the time
the final buzzer had sounded, the undersized Mountaineers trailed
their adversaries by 30 points, 99-69.
But this was
more than a basketball game.
The intensity
when entering the complex was simply unmatched and incomparable
to anything witnessed in the Holmes Center's predecessor, Varsity
Gymnasium.
The chants
and cheering at the beginning of the game were nearly deafening,
not to mention the explosion of fireworks right before tip-off.
"It was
real exciting," said Appalachian State guard Shawn Alexander.
"Coming in, we didn't think it was gonna be like that. We knew
it was sold out, but we didn't think they were gonna have fireworks
like they did, so that really pumped us up and got us going."
Even the Tar
Heels, who just last March played in college basketball's biggest
showcase, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Final
Four, seemed to be in some state of intrigue.
"It's a
fun atmosphere," said UNC head coach Matt Dougherty. "Appalachian
State should be proud of this facility. It'll be great for recruiting
and home-court advantage for sure. The students were great and it
was fun to kick it off."
The first basket
ever made in the new building came not by a Mountaineer, but by
Tar Heel freshman Adam Boone, who drilled a three pointer on the
first possession.
Not to disappoint
the 8,000-plus fans in attendance, senior Corey Cooper answered
the trifecta with his own string music, knocking down Appalachian's
first points of the contest from the top of the key.
It was a known
fact around the High Country's local media that the 6'8", 275 lb.
forward would take the Mountaineers' first shot, but the secret
was never divulged to the Tar Heels and the jumper certainly surprised
UNC.
Sure, Cooper
would go on to miss all the rest of his shots, but people will remember
Cooper's contribution to the historic Friday night spectacle in
ASU basketball rather than the six field goals he missed.
Jonathan Butler,
who last year had been hidden behind the giant shadow cast by the
5'7" former Mountaineer Tyson Patterson, stole the ball from UNC
on the next possession and set up what would end up as AppalachianÕs
largest lead of the game.
Buddy Davis'
fadeaway jumper put the Mountaineers up 5-3 and set the already
raucous and excitable crowd on fire.
That was about
as good as it would get for Appalachian, as far as playing close
to the Tar Heels. The Tar Heels proceeded to outscore the Mountaineers
31-13 over the next 14 minutes, establishing a 39-18 lead with 4:51
left to play.
Mountaineer
returning-starter Shawn Alexander proved to be AppalachianÕs best
(and perhaps only) offensive threat at the end of the first half,
hitting three three-pointers and one jump shot in the last five
minutes.
Still, UNC led
by 54-29 at the end of the half, shooting a torrid 10-of-13 from
behind the arc.
The first-ever
dunk at the Seby Jones Arena of the Holmes Center took place with
5:23 left in the first half and occurred when an Alexander miss
was slammed back down by Appalachian forward Michael Patten.
This brought
the crowd to its feet once again. To say the game was played with
emotion would be correct, but not all emotions were of jubilation
for the opening of the new building or the start of another exciting
season of Appalachian basketball.
Many of the
emotions were reserved for the memory of Number 5, the late Rufus
Leach, Appalachian State's leading scorer last year and a tearful
omission from this year's squad. "These guys showed a lot of
character tonight," said Fancher. "There were a lot of
wet eyes in that dressing room before this game started tonight.
A lot of people
that came out with emotions were trying to represent a fallen comrade.
É I thought Rufus wouldÕve been proud of our effort. He would've
probably made some of those shots we missed, but he wouldÕve been
very proud of our effort tonight."
Leach was honored
at halftime by having his jersey retired. Chants of "Rufus
Leach," "the Ruf is on fire" and "number five"
echoed throughout the enormous arena, which sadly never had the
honor of hosting a Leach three-pointer or jump shot.
As Chancellor
Francis Borkowski, Dr. Ming Land, dean of the College of Fine and
Applied Arts, and Dr. William Towns, chairperson of the department
of communication, awarded Leach's family his college diploma, hands
throughout the crowd shot up, silently stretching out five fingers
in support of Number 5.
The second
half was played much like the first, with the Tar Heels establishing
a 31-point lead with 12:02 left to play after a Tar Heel basket
by Will Johnson made the score 75-44.
Appalachian
State was able to hold the nationally fourth-ranked Tar Heels to
under 100 points and after the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard
to the first game ever played at the Holmes Center read UNC-99,
ASU-69.
After the game,
Fancher put the Mountaineers' gameplan under the scope. "The
inside was their strength coming into the game, and for us, that's
what we were trying to take away," said Fancher.
"If you
wouldÕve told me they were gonna go 10-for-13 from the three-point
line in the first half I would've called you a liar." Alexander
agreed with the assessment. "Carolina's a good team. They hit
the first 10-of-13 and we didn't expect that coming in.
Once they were
shooting well, we had to worry about the inside game and the outside
game so it kind of put us on our heels." Despite the final
score, it was great day for Appalachian sports.
There will be
many more great days to come for ASU basketball and hopefully closer
scores as the Mountaineers try to defend their Southern Conference
title, but perhaps none will match the excitement and intensity
generated by this historic athletic event.
Not only was
this game huge for Appalachian State, it was also big for Tar Heel
State basketball as a whole.
Donald
brings "Payne" to Robert Morris during 50-40 victory
Ty Brueilly
- Sports Beat
After the adrenaline
that the Appalachian State University men's basketball team had
in their loss against the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, it was hard for them to completely stop the rush of energy
three nights later against a smaller Robert Morris College (RMC)
team.
The ASU players
were playing for what they wanted so bad against Carolina Ñ a win
Ñ and no player would stop without coming away with one.
Appalachian
defeated Robert Morris 50-40. After a huge block by Buddy Davis,
a swarm defense combination of Shawn Alexander and Davis trapped
a RMC guard in the corner forcing him to a turnover.
After the turnover,
the first ASU player to take the lead on their road to victory was
Alexander, clinching three consecutive three-pointers in a little
over three minutes of play.
Donald Payne
decided that in order for ASU to win, the contest couldn't be a
one-man show, so he began his quest to help Alexander as well as
the team by doing anything he could for a win, starting with an
up-and-under layup.
On a fast break,
Mike Patten missed a layup but Corey Cooper followed directly behind
to grab the rebound and put it in the basket where it belonged.
Freshman starter
Noah Brown, last year's Texas Player of the Year, came through with
much-needed offensive help, starting his offense with a long three-point
basket at the top of the key.
With seven seconds
left in the half, Brown drove in a bit, stopped and then pulled
up for a two point basket to end the half. Davis came through with
the defensive intensity with another block leading to a pretty cradle
layup by Jonathan Butler.
Payne, Brown
and Alexander kept up the offense while Davis played tough defense.
Alexander ended the first half with 16 points, including three three-point
baskets. Brown ended the half with nine points, and Payne had six
points off the bench.
Davis had three
blocks and one steal in the first half. In the second half, Robert
Morris came out of the locker room with a win on their minds, starting
the second half with a 9-2 run.
This is where
Payne came into the picture, shooting his little fadeaway jumper
from the corner, and then almost immediately stealing the ball and
dishing it off to Brown for an easy layup.
Payne then
faked a layup, getting his defender into the air, and then dipped
under him to lay it up for two more points. Payne said, "I
knew when they gave me the ball it was time to score and that's
what I did."
Appalachian
State head coach Houston Fancher said, "Donald is a guy that
we have to look to for setting an emotional standard for us. He
produced tonight and he led us emotionally.
"He is
one of those guys that if you are paying attention to him you have
no idea what the score is because he plays hard whether you are
20 ahead or 20 behind.
He is going
to be a great player for us." The offensive trio of Payne,
Cooper and Alexander helped ASU tremendously in the second half.
Cooper had 10 points and eight rebounds in the second half alone.
Appalachian
ended the game with four players with double-digit scoring, Alexander
leading with 22, Cooper with 15, Payne with 14 and Brown with 11.
Cooper was the
only player with a double-double, with 15 points and ten rebounds.
Fancher said,
"I came to (Cooper) at halftime and said 'Coop, I want you
to finish the game with a double-double,' and he said, 'I promise
I'm going to finish with one,' and he finished with 15 and 10 so
he came through for me." Davis ended the game with four blocks
and three steals. "It feels real good to have so many players
in double digits," said Alexander.
"We need
a team effort every night. That would help us out a lot." The
men's basketball team will travel to Liberty University in Virginia
tonight for a 7 p.m. tip off.
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