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BOONE — Appalachian State broke open a tight game with an 11-0 run late in the second half to defeat UNCG 72-64 in Southern Conference men's basketball Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center.

Ben Stywall led the Spartans with 19 points and 12 rebounds, moving up another notch on the school's career scoring list in the process. Stywall, a senior from Charlotte, passed Nathan Jameson, moving into 14th place with 1,048 career points. It was his eighth-double of the season, tops in the Southern Conference, and the 20th of his career.

Donald Sims scored a game-high 21 points, 16 of them coming in the second half, to lead Appalachian State (10-7, 4-2 SoCon). Jeremi Booth added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Mikko Koivisto and Brian Cole each added 11 points for UNCG (3-15, 2-5 SoCon). The Spartans had a season-low six turnovers but weren't as effective on the glass as they have been for most of the season. ASU outrebounded them 46-33, and the Spartans converted 11 offensive boards into just five second-chance points.

Neither team led by more than a bucket in the second half until the decisive run. Sims scored five of his points in the 11-0 spurt.

"I thought we battled pretty well right up to that run at the end," UNCG coach Mike Dement said. "We had four or five good looks during that stretch and they just didn't go down for us and that has been the case these last couple of games. Each time we miss an open shot, something rattles out."

UNCG (3-15) — Stywall 8-17 3-3 19, Brown 0-5 0-0 0, Randall 3-11 0-0 6, Toney 3-9 0-0 8, Evans 1-5 0-0 3, Sellers 2-2 0-0 4, Koivisto 3-9 2-2 11, VanDussen 1-2 0-0 2, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Cole 5-9 1-2 11. Totals 26-69 6-7 64.

APPALACHIAN STATE (10-7) — Hunter 2-5 1-3 5, Butts 4-7 1-3 9, Sims 7-13 4-4 21, Booth 3-6 5-6 12, Brand 1-7 5-6 8, Abraham 3-6 2-5 8, Healy 0-2 0-0 0, Wright 1-3 0-0 2, Highsmith 1-1 2-2 5, Williamson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-52 20-29 72.

Halftime—Appalachian State 32-31.
3-point goals—UNCG 6-21 (Koivisto 3-8, Toney 2-7, Evans 1-2, Cole 0-1, VanDussen 0-1, Randall 0-2), Appalachian State 6-19 (Sims 3-8, Highsmith 1-1, Booth 1-3, Brand 1-3, Wright 0-1, Abraham 0-3).
Fouled out—None.
Rebounds—UNCG 33 (Stywall 12), Appalachian State 46 (Butts 11).
Assists—UNCG 13 (Koivisto, Randall 3), Appalachian State 12 (Abraham 4).
Total fouls—UNCG 19, Appalachian State 10.
A—2,162.