BOONE, N.C. – In a matchup between the two most successful teams in the Sun Belt Conference since 2019, and the two best scoring defenses in the league this season, the App State men's basketball team rallied late to turn a tie game with 3:28 to play in regulation into a 65-57 victory over the South Alabama Jaguars at the Holmes Center. The game saw 10 lead changes, but App State's strong defense and home-court advantage eventually wore the Jaguars out.
The win secured a winning percentage of .500 or better for the seventh straight season for App State (16-9, 9-4 SBC). It also moved the Mountaineers to 5-0 against teams from Sun Belt West schools this season.
App State knew it needed to shoot and make 3-pointers against South Alabama's (16-7, 7-4 SBC) strong 2-3 zone defense, and it did that, as it tallied 11 made 3-pointers on Wednesday.
Jalen Tot accounted for seven of those, which matched the mark for the most made by a Mountaineer in a game this season. Tot's strong shooting paid off late in the game, as his 3-pointer with 3:07 to play in the game broke a 51-51 tie to give the Mountaineers a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
As has been the case during their five-game win streak, the Mountaineers were strong defensively, holding the Jaguars to 57 points. This marked the fourth time in the last five games that App State has held its opponent below the 60-point threshold. App State's defense helped it at the end of both halves on Wednesday, as it forced South Alabama to miss seven of its final eight shots to end the first half and four of its final six shots to end the game.
How it Happened
Playing at home for the first time since Jan. 23, App State got on the scoreboard first with a pair of free throws by the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week,
Kasen Jennings. App State eventually jumped ahead by five points thanks to a Tot 3-pointer, before South Alabama scored five straight points of its own to knot the score at five with 16:45 to play in the first half.
Luke Wilson's dunk sent action to the first media timeout to put App State on top, but a 3-pointer by the Jaguars gave them their first lead of the game at 8-7. South Alabama took a slim one-point advantage into the next media break, but another three by Tot sent the Mountaineers back ahead by two at the 10:46 mark.
South Alabama broke a nearly two-minute scoring drought by either side with a layup to tie the score at 15 as play hit the under-eight timeout. A free throw by
Alonzo Dodd, who posted an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double, and a 3-pointer by
Eren Banks gave App State the lead right back, but South Alabama forced the ninth lead change of the opening half with a couple of free throws with just over five minutes to play.
The lead changed hands for the 10th and final time in the first half after Dodd sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key. This sparked an 8-2 App State run to close the half that saw a 3-pointer and a layup by Tot. Although South Alabama scored the half's final points, App State's strong close helped it nab a 29-23 halftime advantage.
App State opened the second half strong by scoring four of the first six points to take a nine-point lead by the first media timeout. A dunk by Wilson opened the final half before Tot nailed his fifth three of the contest to get to that point. But the Jaguars responded to Tot's 3-pointer by embarking on an 8-0 run to pull within one point by the 12:07 mark of the second half.
Seeing their once nine-point advantage shrink down to one, App State again turned to Tot for a spark, and he answered by drilling his sixth 3-pointer to push him over the 20-point mark for the game. Then, Dodd buried a three from the right wing to make it a seven-point game, and
Michael Marcus Jr. capitalized at the stripe, and all of a sudden, the Mountaineers led by nine again with 9:21 to play in the game.
As it did when it fell behind by nine at the beginning of the half, the Jaguars remained poised and closed their gap back down to four with just over eight to play. Wilson ended the run with a dunk through contact off a missed free throw, but South Alabama continued to apply pressure, and App State's lead shrank down to three by the under-eight timeout.
After Dodd and Jennings combined to give the Mountaineers a three-point lead, South Alabama scored three straight points to tie the score for the first time since it was 19-19 with 6:06 to play in the first half. The tie didn't last long as Tot drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push App State ahead by three with 3:07 to play.
Tot's three to break the tie would be the last time that South Alabama got that close. Chaze Harris connected on two free throws to pull within one point, but a pair of free throws by Wilson and a layup by Dodd helped maintain App State's three-point lead as the clock ran under two minutes.
Needing a big shot to close the game, the Mountaineers found Jennings in the corner, who drilled a 3-pointer to shoot App State ahead by six with 76 seconds to play. With a six-point lead and time dwindling away, South Alabama needed to foul, and App State rolled out to a nine-point lead with 36 seconds to play after Banks and Dodd hit on their free throws.
As it has done so well during their five-game win streak, the Mountaineers closed the game well at the free-throw line, which helped them secure a huge Sun Belt victory over one of the two teams in front of them in the standings entering the game.
Top Performers
The Mountaineers saw three players reach double figures against the Jaguars, but nobody in the game scored more than Tot, who poured in 23 points, which marked his season high. Tot's timely 3-point shooting helped App State pull ahead in both the first half and the second half, while also keeping the South Alabama defense at bay. Dodd finished the game with 18 points, but where he shined was on the glass, as he totaled a career-best 13 rebounds. Dodd was a catalyst late in the game as well, with seven of his 18 points coming in the final five minutes. Wilson was also solid on Wednesday, as he posted his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Wilson electrified the crowd on several occasions as he slammed home three dunks in the game.
Up Next
App State will take a break from its conference schedule by hosting the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday in the second installment of the 2025-26 MAC-SBC Challenge. Tipoff from the Holmes Center is slated for 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
