Story courtesy of Appalachian State sports information

Appalachian State 75, UNC Greensboro 70

BOONE, N.C. -- D.J. Thompson became the 27th 1,000-point scorer in Appalachian State University men’s basketball history with 29 points in the Mountaineers’ 75-70 victory over UNC Greensboro on Thursday night at the Holmes Center.

With the win in its regular-season finale, Appalachian (12-15, 6-8 Southern Conference) clinched no worse than the ninth seed in next week’s Southern Conference Tournament. Regardless of whether they are the No. 8 or No. 9 seed, the Mountaineers are assured of facing Wofford in the first round of the tournament on Thursday, March 2 at 3:30 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, S.C.

Thompson’s 29 points led all scorers in the triumph over UNCG. The junior reached the 1,000-point milestone on a three-pointer with 7:39 remaining in the first half and finished the evening with 1,022 career points, just 22 points shy of Chris McFarland for 26th on ASU’s all-time scoring list. Thompson also reached the milestone in 87 games, the seventh fastest in ASU history. Thompson also became the 15th Mountaineer to score 500 points in a season, and now stands at 509 points and needs just three more points to have the 12th most points by a Mountaineer in a single season.

Thanks in large part to Thompson’s scoring binge, the Mountaineers led by as many as 14 points in the second half but didn’t record a field goal over the final 5:24 of the contest and saw their advantage whittled to as little as one point on two occasions in the final minute of play. However, Appalachian made 10-of-14 free throws over that same time span to hold on for the win. For the game, ASU was 21-of-30 (.700) from the foul line compared to just 13-for-24 (.542) for UNCG (11-17, 4-9 SoCon).

Jeremy Clayton added 14 points and nine rebounds to help lead the way for the Apps, while Kyle Hines and Ricky Hickman poured in 23 apiece for the Spartans.

Appalachian got out to an early, 10-2, lead in the first three minutes on Thompson’s first of five three pointers. But the Spartans quickly rattled off an 11-0 run in the next three minutes to go up 13-10 on a Hines layup. The Mountaineers regained the lead on and Eduardo Bermudez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) at 8:02 that was followed by Thompson’s history-making three pointer to give ASU a six-point, 25-19 lead with 7:39 left in the half. Appalachian stayed ahead the remainder of the half to take a 37-34 lead into halftime.

The Mountaineers opened up the second half on a 9-2 run to take a 10-point, 46-36, lead on Clayton’s layup with 16:51 left to play. ASU assumed its largest lead of the night with 11:07 left on a pair of Thompson free throws to go up 57- 43. From there, the Mountaineers shooting tailed off as the team was held without a field goal for the next five minutes as the Spartans went on a 13-4 run before Doug McLaughlin-Williams (Reston, Va.) ended the drought with three of his nine points.

ASU continued to struggle down the stretch as the Spartans pulled within one, 70-69, on a Hickman three pointer with just under a minute left. Following a series of fouls and ensuing free throws, Appalachian’s defense found itself trying to stop a Hickman drive to the basket with five seconds left. Thompson was on the spot again, tipping the ball away from Hickman and into the waiting hand of Nate Cranford (Harrisburg, N.C.) to preserve the victory.

That steal was easily the biggest of Thompson’s four on the night to go along with his four assists and no turnovers. Thompson and the rest of the Mountaineers will have a full week to rest and prepare before facing Wofford in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament on March 2 and 3:30 p.m.