Battle leads Appalachian State to 82-73 win over NCCU

Dec 8, 2018, 09:36 pm

BOONE, N.C. -- Joseph Battle came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points and lead Appalachian State to an 82-73 victory over North Carolina Central on Saturday.

Appalachian State (4-5) has won all four of its home games and three of its last four after opening the season 1-4.

Battle was 4 of 4 from the floor and made 10 of 11 free throws. O'Showen Williams nailed 3 of 4 from distance to total 13 points and Ronshad Shabazz scored 12. Tyrell Johnson chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds and Adrian Delph had 10 points as nine players put points on the board.

Appalachian State trailed throughout the first half until Battle converted a 3-point play to go ahead 33-31 at the 3:06 mark. Battle added two more free throws and Breki Gylfason drilled a 3-pointer for a 38-36 halftime advantage. A Raasean Davis dunk started NCCU on a 9-2 run to retake the lead 45-40 early in the second period. The Mountaineers answered with a 14-3 rally, capped by Delph's trey, to lead 54-48 with 12:41 remaining. They pushed their advantage to 68-55 at the 6:08 mark.

Davis hit 10 of 11 field goals for 21 points to lead the Eagles (4-6).