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by RYAN WIXTED Sports Editor
Eleven first half turnovers and poor shooting turned out to be the downfall for Appalachian State University Saturday, as they fell to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro 63-46 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament.
Appalachian shot 35 percent from the field and went 4-of-14 from 3-point range. They also shot an embarrassing 22 percent from the free-throw line. "We had a tough time getting our offense going today," ASU head coach Houston Fancher said. " I thought [UNCG] defended us well and forced us into some tough shots. You get into a situation down here, where if you don't make a couple shots it tightens you up a little bit, and we got tighten up a little bit today." Starting the second half down by seven, Appalachian had to score quickly in order to keep the contest close. However, the Spartans had a different plan. They kept attacking the basket on offense, while using their aggressiveness on defense to keep the Mountaineers from getting any easy scoring options. "When you come here you don't have to be perfect, but you have to be pretty close," Fancher said. "Every possession is so imperative and every turnover becomes magnified.”
The Spartans were able to use every ASU turnover to their benefit, as they tallied eight points off 12 turnovers. With ASU senior forward Donte Minter in foul trouble, the Mountaineers had to rely on senior forward Jeremy Clayton to carry the workload in the low post. Clayton finished the night with 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Minter only finished with four points, way below his team leading average of 14 points per game. “It was a physical game. They fronted the post and played me well,” Clayton said. “We just didn’t match their intensity in the post. They played hard and deserved to win the game.” Spartans' senior forward Kyle Hines provided the scoring presence for UNCG, finishing with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. “It’s a combination of many things, with my teammates getting me the ball and setting good screens,” Hines said of his ability to score. “I just work hard and play hard to get different angles against my opponent. I try to outwork my opponent the best I can.”
Despite their shooting woes, Appalachian was able to go on a 9-4 run and cut the deficit to six points with 7:50 to play. But baskets by Hines and Spartans' senior guard Kevin Oleksiak pushed the lead back to double-digits, and tarnished any hopes of an ASU comeback.
“[Hines] was in foul trouble and there were a couple of key turnovers that kept us in the game,” UNCG head coach Mike Dement said. “We got a couple of defensive rebounds and were able to make a few runs from our rebounding." Appalachian was out rebounded 38-33. The key stat, however, was bench points. The Mountaineers only got eight points from their bench, while UNCG had 17. ASU sophomore guard Kellen Brand added 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, and junior guard Eduardo Bermundez collected seven points and seven rebounds. The Mountaineers finished the 2007-08 season with an 18-13 overall record and a 13-7 conference record. UNCG moves on to play Davidson College in the semifinals Sunday at 6 p.m.
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