February 29, 2000
 
A Fond Farewell to Varsity
Anthony Holderied  Varsity Sports
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

On an emotional and historical afternoon in Boone, Appalachian State University stormed out of Varsity Gym for the last time with a regular season ending 101-83 victory over Western Carolina. 
In Saturday’s victory, an attendance of 6,224 fans watched four Mountaineer seniors play their final regular season games in black and gold, and with them went the old building that has been host to Appalachian basketball for 32 years. 
Four former Mountaineer coaches, including Bobby Cremins, and 55 former ASU players were in attendance for the closing of the gym that was host to a 281-118 Appalachian record. 
“The atmosphere we had out there today was unbelievable. The Maniacs, the students, the community, the cheerleaders and the band just made the atmosphere unbelievable,” said coach Buzz Peterson. 
“There’s so many emotional elements involved.  It’s your last game, it’s Western Carolina, your mom and dad are at the game and everyone’s here to see you go out,” said Tyson Patterson. 
The victory was Appalachian’s second in a row to close out the regular season with a 13-3 conference record and 20-8 overall. It marked the third straight season that ASU has posted 20 wins, including 13 wins in the conference. 
“It’s been an emotional ride and today we topped it off in storybook fashion, it’s a great way to go out,” said Matt McMahon. 
ASU broke out of the gates quickly after Western scored the first basket of the game. The Mountaineers used a 22-0 run to go up on the Catamounts 24-4 just halfway through the first half. “That was a very big confidence booster, we always concentrate on getting out to a big start, and today, that gave us a big cushion,” said Patterson. 
 Kent Phillips started the game for the first time this season, and played well with two rebounds and four assists in the first half.  “Kent did a terrific job, he was very relaxed and played hard out there,” said Peterson. 
After trading runs throughout the first half, Western was able to trim the lead down to 10, making it 43-33 Mountaineers at the half. 
Appalachian continued its hot shooting in the second half after hitting 57 percent from the field in the first. The Mountaineers put up 58 points in the second half on 63 percent shooting, including 17 points from junior Rufus Leach, who forgot that it was senior day. 
Leach finished the game with 26 points on 6-10 shooting from the three-point line and put himself in the record books as the last player to score in Varsity Gym, as he hit a three-point basket with 35 seconds left. 
The upperclassmen carried their load as well in their final appearances in front of the home crowd.  Seniors Phillips, McMahon, Patterson and Cedrick Holmes combined for 44 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists on the afternoon. 
Freshman Jarvis Hayes of the Catamounts put on a show of his own, scoring 28 points on 12-21 shooting. His brother Jonas had 19 points and nine rebounds. Western shot 47 percent from the field on the day. 
Before Appalachian looks ahead to breaking in the long-awaited George M. Holmes Convocation Center next year, the Mountaineers have one last goal yet to be achieved. 
The Southern Conference Tournament gets underway on Thursday in Greenville, S.C., at the Bi-Lo Center. The Mountaineers, who have received their third straight number one seed in the tournament, will await the winner of Thursday’s battle between Western Carolina and Tennessee- Chattanooga, which is at noon. Tip-off for the beginning of Appalachian’s quest is at noon. 
 
 
 
 
theapp@appstate.edu