There are several things Appalachian State basketball coach Jason Capel has not forgotten about his team's 74-62 loss to the College of Charleston in early February.
Foremost is the contrast in shooting between his Mountaineers, who by Capel's count missed 19 layups, and Charleston guard Andrew Lawrence, who hit 6 of 8 3-point shots.
Capel said containing Lawrence and converting offensive opportunities are
two key factors for the Mountaineers, who face the Cougars in today's 11:30 a.m. Southern Conference tournament-opening game at the Asheville Civic Center.
"We were pretty dominant inside and rebounded the basketball well in the previous game. The problem was we missed too many layups and gave them some pretty good looks. If we can rebound at the same clip, I feel pretty good that we're not going to miss 19 layups," said Capel, whose team enjoyed a 46-32 rebounding advantage over Charleston.
"Defensively, we have to do the job, and that starts with containing Andrew Lawrence," said Capel, whose squad (12-17) was fifth in the SoCon North Division (7-11). "We have to continue to pound the ball inside and take care of it. We left too many points on the board the first contest."
Capel said his team has a different mindset going into the tournament. "Everyone going into the tournament should have some semblance of confidence," said Capel, a sentiment also voiced by Cougars interim coach Mark Byington.
"You want to be confident as a coach. You want to be confident as a player," Byington said. And he feels the Cougars have that confidence after a seesaw season. The Cougars (19-11, 10-8) got off to a 10-2 start. Injuries contributed to a 2-6 slump, but the team has gotten healthy, and the return of guard Anthony Stitt, who missed 12 games with a broken hand, has the Cougars optimistic.
"It's nice to have everyone back, especially Stitt," said sophomore Trent Wiedeman. "Now that we have everyone back, the team has confidence that we can win the tournament. We just have to play as well as we're capable of playing."
Byington said Stitt visibly demonstrated his value to the team in the two games he has played prior to the tournament. He hit only one field goal against Georgia Southern, but it was a clutch 3-pointer that put the Cougars back ahead of the Eagles. In the second half of the Cougars' win over The Citadel, Stitt had a couple of steals that led to layups at a critical time, Byington said.
"He gives our team a different level of confidence, a different belief in itself. It rubs off on the team," Byington said.
Foremost is the contrast in shooting between his Mountaineers, who by Capel's count missed 19 layups, and Charleston guard Andrew Lawrence, who hit 6 of 8 3-point shots.
Capel said containing Lawrence and converting offensive opportunities are
two key factors for the Mountaineers, who face the Cougars in today's 11:30 a.m. Southern Conference tournament-opening game at the Asheville Civic Center.
"We were pretty dominant inside and rebounded the basketball well in the previous game. The problem was we missed too many layups and gave them some pretty good looks. If we can rebound at the same clip, I feel pretty good that we're not going to miss 19 layups," said Capel, whose team enjoyed a 46-32 rebounding advantage over Charleston.
"Defensively, we have to do the job, and that starts with containing Andrew Lawrence," said Capel, whose squad (12-17) was fifth in the SoCon North Division (7-11). "We have to continue to pound the ball inside and take care of it. We left too many points on the board the first contest."
Capel said his team has a different mindset going into the tournament. "Everyone going into the tournament should have some semblance of confidence," said Capel, a sentiment also voiced by Cougars interim coach Mark Byington.
"You want to be confident as a coach. You want to be confident as a player," Byington said. And he feels the Cougars have that confidence after a seesaw season. The Cougars (19-11, 10-8) got off to a 10-2 start. Injuries contributed to a 2-6 slump, but the team has gotten healthy, and the return of guard Anthony Stitt, who missed 12 games with a broken hand, has the Cougars optimistic.
"It's nice to have everyone back, especially Stitt," said sophomore Trent Wiedeman. "Now that we have everyone back, the team has confidence that we can win the tournament. We just have to play as well as we're capable of playing."
Byington said Stitt visibly demonstrated his value to the team in the two games he has played prior to the tournament. He hit only one field goal against Georgia Southern, but it was a clutch 3-pointer that put the Cougars back ahead of the Eagles. In the second half of the Cougars' win over The Citadel, Stitt had a couple of steals that led to layups at a critical time, Byington said.
"He gives our team a different level of confidence, a different belief in itself. It rubs off on the team," Byington said.
