By David Rogers. February 18, 2012. BOONE – It was Senior Day for Appalachian State Men's Basketball, and all four seniors started.  In the last home game of their collegiate careers, forwards Omar Carter and Isaac Butts lit up the Holmes Center with strong shooting and rebounding performances on Saturday as Appalachian State outlasted Winthrop University, 76-64, in front of 1,590 mostly Mountaineer fans. All photos by Keith Cline

“They’ve got guys who can score,” confessed Winthrop head coach Randy Peele afterwards, in assessing what surprised him about Appalachian State.  “They are a very talented team.  Ike Butts probably should be double-teamed every time he plays.  Carter can score. (Andre) Williamson stretches the defense. And then they have those two freshmen guards (Mike Neal and Tab Hamilton III)…I think they have a pretty high ceiling, including the potential to win the Southern Conference.”

While Winthrop’s senior forward Matt Morgan led all scorers with 22 points, the Mountaineers spread the wealth with five players in double figures, including team-high leaders Butts and Carter with 15 apiece, closely followed by Hamilton (13), Nathan Healy (13) and Neal (10).

Remarkably, Butts hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds, bringing his total to  31 boards in the last two games.  Between his strong, mostly dominant inside play on the offensive end and his intimidating presence on the defensive end, the senior from Milledgeville, GA is showing the potential head coach Jason Capel has been pushing him to realize since the beginning of the 2011-2012 season.

“I am so proud of our young men in the locker room,” Capel said later. “Especially I am proud of our seniors, who have been through a lot of adversity, including some injuries. Making a choice of colleges to attend is one of the most important decisions you make. Sometimes you come into it with this fairy tale vision of what it is going to be like.  It doesn’t always turn out that way, but I told the guys in the locker room that their fairly tale is still alive. This afternoon showed what kind of basketball team we have the potential for being every game in which we play with consistent effort.”

The Mountaineers rolled out to a 16-point lead, 26-10, when Butts dropped in a layup with 9:48 remaining in the first half.  But the Eagles went on a 16-4 run, led by 10 points from senior guard Reggie Middleton.  The visitors were helped by Appalachian’s hot shooting growing cold, and the Mountaineers offensive playmaking looked like it was going to come unraveled.

Winthrop closed to within two points with 2:36 remaining before intermission, before free throws by Healy and Hamilton helped push the Mountaineers’ halftime lead to six at the first half buzzer.

While the Butts-led Mountaineers dominated in the paint early, Winthrop’s second half comeback to take a one-point lead (58-57) with 7:47 remaining was largely explained by its improving inside play, especially by senior center George Valentine (ended the game with 8 rebounds).

But a timely three-pointer by ASU’s Neal at the 7:19 mark put a spark back into the Mountaineers.  Guards G.J. Vilarino and Mitch Woods both hit threes, and Healy knifed through the Eagle defense for a layup to re-establish ASU’s momentum.

Next up for Appalachian State is a visit to The Citadel in Charleston on Feb. 22, before closing out the regular season on the road in Culowhee vs. Western Carolina.

Although the Winthrop “Bracketbusters” matchup was a non-conference contest, at stake in the closing road trip is a potentially improved seeding for the Southern Conference Tournament, March 2-5, in Asheville. UNC-Greensboro, at 10-6 in SoCon, appears to have a secure hold on first place in the North Division, but Elon and Samford are both 8-8 in a tie for second, just ahead of 7-9 Appalachian State. Two road wins by the Mountaineers in next week's games against the 2-14 Bulldogs of The Citadel and the 6-10 Catamounts of Western Carolina, combined with losses by Elon and Samford could put the High Country favorite back in the thick of the Southern Conference battle for 2nd in the North Division.  In its final two games, Elon faces the South-leading Davidson (away), as well as the North-leading UNCG (home).  Samford has a somewhat less daunting challenge in facing Western Carolina and Chattanooga, both on the road.

Winthrop 64

Appalachian State 76

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