Jeremi Booth, ASU's latest addition to the starting five, will look to keep the Apps' momentum going during their next-to-last road trip of the season (Photo: ASU Athletics) Game statistics

Men's Basketball Begins SoCon Stretch Run at Elon
by Appalachian Sports Information

February 13, 2008 - Appalachian State men's basketball embarks on the stretch run of its schedule on Thursday evening when it travels down I-40 to face Elon in a Valentine’s day matchup at 7 p.m..

The Mountaineers are coming off a three-game homestand and are 8-2 in their last 10 games after rolling over Wofford, 83-55, on Monday. Donte Minter led all scorers in the win with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting. After back-to-back 20-point outings, Minter leads ASU with 14.1 points per game on 59.5 percent shooting

With the win, the Apps improved to 16-8 overall and 11-4 in league play to move a full game ahead of Chattanooga for first in the SoCon North Division standings.

ASU’s perimeter defense held Wofford, the top three-point shooting team in the league, to just 27.8 percent shooting from long distance. .

The Mountaineers are now just four wins away from recording back-to-back 20-win seasons for just the third time in school history.

The team is making 47.6 percent of its shots from the floor, the top mark in the league and 34th-best in the nation.

Appalachian is 4-1 against North Division competition this season with the lone loss coming at Chattanooga. Meanwhile, Elon is coming off back-to-back wins over Wofford and The Citadel and is 9-15 overall and 7-9 in the league.

Ola Atoyebi is averaging 13.1 points for Elon, which is on average scoring just 62.4 points per game, the second-lowest in the SoCon.

Following the Elon game, the squad will remain in the Triad to face UNC Greensboro in a pivotal SoCon North Division clash on Saturday at 3 p.m.