BOONE, N.C. - Donald Sims scored a career-high 35 points, including two critical three-pointers in the final minute, to lead Appalachian State University men's basketball to a crucial 88-82 win over first-place Chattanooga on Thursday evening at the Holmes Center.

With the victory, Appalachian (12-16, 9-10 SoCon) remained in the hunt for one of the North Division's two first-round byes in next week's Southern Conference Tournament. A win on Saturday versus Samford and a Western Carolina loss to Chattanooga (15-15, 11-8) gives ASU the first-round bye. No team without a bye has won the SoCon Tournament since it went to a four-day format in 1993.

Having already tied his previous career high of 29, Sims snapped an 82-82 deadlock with a long-range three-pointer with 57 seconds left to play. After UTC's Stephen McDowell missed his attempt at a game-tying three and following an ASU timeout, Sims drained his ninth three-pointer of the evening from 25 feet with 14 seconds remaining to seal the thrilling win.

The Mountaineers led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but the Mocs went on a 34-19 run to take its first lead in 26 minutes at 76-75 with 4:09 to go. The Apps regained the lead 17 seconds later on a Sims three but UTC scored six of the next 10 points to knot it at 82-82 and set up Sims' last-minute heroics.

Appalachian opened the first half strong with a 9-2 run and extended the lead to 10 points at the break with a 48-38 advantage. 15 of Sims' 19 first-half points came from beyond the arc as the team made seven treys in the first half and shot 54.5 percent from the floor. ASU shot 56.4 percent from the floor in the game and sank 11-of-28 three-pointers.

Isaac Butts had four points and three rebounds in the first three minutes of the game but spent the remaining 17 minutes of the half on the bench due to foul trouble. The big man came alive in the second half when he entered the game with 13 minutes to play. He finished the game with his ninth double-double of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in just 16 minutes of play.

Kellen Brand added 18 points and a season-best seven assists on 8-of-14 shooting with four rebounds. Donterious Hughes dished out five assists of his own to go along with 13 points and a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the charity stripe. The Apps made 15-of-20 from the line in the game and 21 assists in the game, the second-highest total of the season.

Sims' nine three-pointers are tied for the second-most in ASU history while his 35 points are tied for 19th in the school's all-time annals.

The 48 first-half points were the third-most of the season for the Apps and the most in SoCon play, while the team's five starters accounted for all but three of the team's points on the night. A.J. Highsmith hit a three-pointer for the only bench points of the evening.

Appalachian closes out the regular season at home on Saturday as Samford makes its first-ever trip to the High Country. The game is the second half of a double-header as the women's squad plays at 1 p.m. The men will honor senior Eduardo Bermudez before the 3:30 p.m. tipoff.