Commentary: ASU takes

hard road to finals
By Steve Behr, sports editor

To Appalachian Nation, losing to Samford last week was as tough of a loss the Mountaineers have had in a while.

All Appalachian State had to do was beat Samford, get at least the third seed from the North Division, and a trip to the finals of the Southern Conference Tournament seemed possible.

As the No. 3 seed, the Mountaineers would have opened with the South Division’s No. 6 seed Furman. Face it folks, if you can’t beat Furman this year, reaching the finals isn’t a realistic goal.

Then with Furman in the Mountaineers’ rearview mirror, another shot at The Citadel would have been next.

This seemed like a tough, but winnable game since Appalachian State lost to the Bulldogs 74-72 at the Holmes Center and in overtime in Charleston, S.C.

That would have left a possible semifinal game with Chattanooga, the North Division champion. Sure, the Mocs have a home game in McKenzie Arena, but the Mocs limped to the tournament, losing road games to Appalachian State and Western Carolina.

Appalachian State also had an overtime game with the Mocs the last time the teams played in Chattanooga, before falling in the extra period.

Three winnable games. No guarantees, but three games that could be had.

It didn’t work out that way. Oh, Appalachian State can certainly beat Georgia Southern, the No. 5 seed from the South Division, Friday afternoon.

It’s the first game of the tournament, so what better way for the Mountaineers to begin that with a win over the Eagles, who have had a rough season. Appalachian State already beat Georgia Southern 95-82 in Statesboro, Ga. this year, so there’s no reason to think the Mountaineers can’t do it again.

The next game will be a bit more difficult. Looming in the future is the Darth Vader of the SoCon, Davidson.
Davidson should lobby to wear its black road uniforms, even though they’ll wear white throughout the tournament. It’s what the overall No. 1 seed gets to do. It makes packing a little easier
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Some can make a case that The Citadel is the team nobody wants to face this weekend. It’s a hard argument to counter. The Bulldogs have won 12 out of their last 13 and put together an 11-game winning streak that included their two wins over the Mountaineers.

Only a loss to Wofford got in the way of them finishing the season with a 13-game winning streak.

But if Stephen Curry is completely healthy, it’s hard to bet against Davidson. The sharpshooting guard has seen every defense possible and can heat up faster than a Danielle Steele novel.

Actually, Appalachian State has the right idea when it comes to defending Curry. Make Curry play defense, get him in foul trouble, and send him to the bench. He didn’t play that much when the Wildcats visited the Holmes Center this year, but Curry’s teammates picked up the slack and lifted Davidson to a 70-52 victory.

Nobody’s saying Appalachian State can’t win. When Kellen Brand and Donald Sims are making shots, and Ike Butts and Josh Hunter are being a force inside, the Mountaineers are very difficult to guard.

And guys like guards Donterious Hughes, Marcus Wright and forwards Andre Williamson and Quinche Dowdell have been, at times, dynamic players.

But everybody has to have a good game Friday against Georgia Southern. Then they have to have a phenomenal game against Davidson.

It’s the hard way to do things, but it’s the only choice the Mountaineers have.