App Starts Tournament Versus Wofford
by Steve Behr (Watauga Democrat)
March 1, 2006
In a season when no team has emerged as dominant, it may be the year that a team which did not receive an automatic bye into the Southern Conference Tournament prevails with a tournament championship.
It hasn?t happened since the SoCon started awarding byes, though Furman came the closest by reaching the finals in 2002. The Paladins ended up losing to Davidson 62-57.
Appalachian State would like to be the team that makes SoCon history by winning the tournament without the help of a bye. To do that, the eighth-seeded Mountaineers (11-14, 6-8 SoCon) must first beat ninth-seeded Wofford (11-17, 6-9) Thursday in the first round.
Tip-off is 3:30 p.m., at the North Charleston (S.C.) Arena.
?It?s never been done before,? Mountaineers coach Houston Fancher said. ?Because everybody is so even, I think a number of teams playing the first day can get to the finals and I think we?re one of those teams. It?s a matter of who gets hot offensively and makes shots. Great guard play is important and we have good perimeter people.?
?It should be an interesting tournament. Everything is up for grabs.?
Appalachian State goes into the game with some momentum, having won three of its final four games of the regular season. Included was a 75-70 victory over UNC Greensboro back on Feb. 23, Appalachian State?s final game of the regular season.
Since that game, they?ve been concentrating on how to stop Wofford?s inside game of power forward Howard Wilkerson and the outside shooting of 6-foot-3 freshman guard Matt Estep, who buried six 3-pointers in Wofford?s 60-59 win over Appalachian State Feb. 2.
?They all shot well that night,? Mountaineers coach Houston Fancher said. ?They hit 13 threes and (Estep) hit six of them.?
Fancher blamed the loss on complacency, particularly when it came to playing perimeter defense, caused by a 22-13 Mountaineers lead as the reason for the loss.
?We were up 22-13 and we flat-lined,? Fancher said. ?We lost the passion we had and didn?t play hard. We went through the motions.?
Despite that, Appalachian State held a five-point lead with 2:44 left, but saw that evaporate. Fancher responded the next day in practice by taking away the players? practice jerseys, a move he?s made in the past to make a point.
The Mountaineers won?t get them back until they practice Wednesday in Charleston. However, since they were taken away, Appalachian State is 3-2, including a win over North Division champion Elon and a solid road win over Western Carolina.
?We?ve had some really competitive practices the last few days,? Fancher said. ?They know that the next game is potentially their last. I don?t think a lack of effort will be a problem.?
Appalachian State?s recent history with the Terriers is a problem The Mountaineers have lost their last three games with Wofford dating back to 2003-04 season, even though Appalachian holds a 16-8 lead in the series.
Wofford is also coming off a disappointing loss to The Citadel, thus becoming the Bulldogs? lone SoCon victim.
?It may help them refocus,? Fancher suggested. ?Our motivation is that they?ve already beaten us coupled with the fact that we either win or go home. Motivation is not an issue.?
