Last Updated on November 13, 2025 1:00 pm
*Nov. 11, 2025*
*Contact: *Jacob Plecker (pleckerjw@appstate.edu)
*Online: * appstatesports.com/news/2025/11/11/mens-basketball-app-state-opens-game-strong-but-falters-late-in-loss-to-buckeyes.aspx
*Box Score: *Attached
*COLUMBUS, Ohio – * After a fast start to go up by 12 with 8:13 to go in the first half, the App State men's basketball team had plenty of momentum going to the halftime break. But the experienced Ohio State Buckeyes found another gear, and outscored App State 15-0 over the final five minutes to take control of the game. The Buckeyes ended up outscoring the Mountaineers by 17 in the second half and won the game 75-53 on their home floor on Tuesday.
App State (2-2) led by 10 points (25-15) with just over five minutes to go in the opening half, but Ohio State (3-0) found its rhythm and ended the game on a 60-28 run. This run included an extended 36-7 run that lasted from the 5:11 mark of the first half to the 8:18 mark of the second half.
The free-throw line played a big role on Tuesday as the Buckeyes outshot the Mountaineers 32-8 in the contest. App State saw two of its guards (Alonzo Dodd <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/alonzo-dodd/10097> and Eren Banks <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/eren-banks/10107>) grab three first-half fouls, which helped Ohio State score points at the line without time coming off the clock. Ohio State's 32 free throws are the most an App State opponent has attempted in a game since Feb. 26, 2021, when Georgia Southern also attempted 32 free throws in a double overtime game.
Kasen Jennings <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/kasen-jennings/10106> continued his strong start to the season by pouring in a team-best 12 points, marking his fourth straight double-figure game. This streak marks his longest since tallying four straight from Nov. 14-23 of the 2021-22 season when he was a member of Kennesaw State. Additionally, Jalen Tot <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jalen-tot/10129> tallied nine points, his Mountaineer best, and a team-best three 3-pointers.
*How it Happened* In the lone high-major game on the Mountaineers' schedule, Jennings scored the game's first points after finding the paint for a short jumper. Brandon Noel, who scored a game-best 17 points, recorded the first Buckeye points to tie the game, but Jennings gave App State a three-point lead at the 17:25 mark with a 3-pointer to make it 5-2.
Neither team scored for nearly the next three minutes, but it was App State that broke the cold spell, seeing Luke Wilson <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/luke-wilson/10103> finish a layup through contact to put it up five. The Mountaineers continued to play strong defense to start the game, as Ohio State missed 10 of its first 11 shots, before the Mountaineers hit on another three, this time by Tot, to put them up eight with 13:57 to play.
The Buckeyes sank two free throws to end their scoreless spell, but App State kept its foot on the pedal and tallied seven of the next 11 points to go up by nine by the halfway point of the first half. Jennings and Andrin Njock <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/andrin-njock/10100> helped spark the run with points before Cristoph Tilly ended the fray with a basket.
With their lead at seven, Jason Clarke Jr. <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jason-clarke-jr-/10096> soared his way into the paint and hit a reverse layup to make the score 19-10 App State. After a miss on the other end, Njock netted his second 3-pointer of the game to put the Mountaineers ahead 12, their largest lead of the game, forcing a Buckeye timeout.
Ohio State scored a basket to pull back within 10 with 6:55 to go, and then hit a 3-pointer to make it 15-23 a possession later. Clarke Jr. tallied a layup to push App State back ahead by 10 with 5:29 to go, and head coach Dustin Kerns <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/dustin-kerns/1626> called a timeout with the momentum fully on the side of the Mountaineers as play neared halftime.
Out of the timeout, the Buckeyes got to work to trim the deficit and did just that as they tallied four straight points to make it a six-point game by the final media break of the opening frame. Then, John Mobley Jr. made a layup and four free throws to tie the score at 25 with 1:15 to go. Two more free throws by Mobley gave Ohio State its first lead with 33 seconds to play, and Bruce Thornton's three at the buzzer gave Ohio State a five-point lead, capping off a 15-0 run over the final five minutes of the half.
Despite the poor close to the half, App State's defense was solid to start the game as it held the Buckeyes to just eight made field goals on 28 attempts (28.6 percent). Jennings paced App State's offensive attack with seven first-half points, with Njock following closely behind with six. Ohio State shot 13 of its 32 free throws in the opening half and made 12 of them.
Needing a spark to open the half, App State saw buckets from Wilson and Clarke Jr. to make the score 33-29 just two minutes into the final frame, but Ohio State kept itself away from App State by drilling two threes and a free throw to go up by double digits by the first media timeout.
Thornton capped off a four-point play out of the timeout to make it 41-29, but Michael Marcus Jr. <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/michael-marcus-jr-/10099> buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key to pull the Mountaineers within nine with 15 minutes to play in the game.
Following the Marcus Jr. three, Ohio State scored 16 straight points, its second run of at least 15 points in the game, to take a commanding 25-point lead at the 9:24 mark. Jennings' 3-point bucket ended App State's seven-minute scoreless drought, but Noel hit on a layup out of a media timeout to make the score 59-35 with 8:02 to play.
Noel accounted for eight of the next 10 Buckeye points to push them ahead by 27 with just over four minutes to play. Tot hit on his second 3-pointer of the game to end a 9-4 Buckeye run to make it 68-44 by the final timeout of the game. Ohio State retaliated with a 3-pointer and four free throws to go up 28, its largest advantage of the game, with 90 seconds to play.
Although the Mountaineers scored the final six points of the game, it was too late as the Buckeyes claimed a home win to make them 3-0 on the season.
*Top Performers* Jennings' 12 points paced the Mountaineers on Tuesday as he reached double figures for the fourth straight game to open the season. Tot followed closely behind with nine points to match his Mountaineer high that he set last Wednesday against Carolina University, and buried a season-high three treys, which was the most in the game by any player. Both Njock and Clarke Jr. scored eight points, with Clarke Jr.'s tally marking his career best. Clarke Jr. was 3-4 from the field and also dished out two assists.
*Up Next* App State will stay on the road for its next game, as it travels to Hanover, N.H., to take on the Dartmouth Big Green on Sunday. It will mark the Mountaineers' first game vs. an Ivy League school since March 8, 2010. Tipoff from Leede Arena is set for noon, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
*Contact: *Jacob Plecker (pleckerjw@appstate.edu)
*Online: * appstatesports.com/news/2025/11/11/mens-basketball-app-state-opens-game-strong-but-falters-late-in-loss-to-buckeyes.aspx
*Box Score: *Attached
*COLUMBUS, Ohio – * After a fast start to go up by 12 with 8:13 to go in the first half, the App State men's basketball team had plenty of momentum going to the halftime break. But the experienced Ohio State Buckeyes found another gear, and outscored App State 15-0 over the final five minutes to take control of the game. The Buckeyes ended up outscoring the Mountaineers by 17 in the second half and won the game 75-53 on their home floor on Tuesday.
App State (2-2) led by 10 points (25-15) with just over five minutes to go in the opening half, but Ohio State (3-0) found its rhythm and ended the game on a 60-28 run. This run included an extended 36-7 run that lasted from the 5:11 mark of the first half to the 8:18 mark of the second half.
The free-throw line played a big role on Tuesday as the Buckeyes outshot the Mountaineers 32-8 in the contest. App State saw two of its guards (Alonzo Dodd <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/alonzo-dodd/10097> and Eren Banks <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/eren-banks/10107>) grab three first-half fouls, which helped Ohio State score points at the line without time coming off the clock. Ohio State's 32 free throws are the most an App State opponent has attempted in a game since Feb. 26, 2021, when Georgia Southern also attempted 32 free throws in a double overtime game.
Kasen Jennings <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/kasen-jennings/10106> continued his strong start to the season by pouring in a team-best 12 points, marking his fourth straight double-figure game. This streak marks his longest since tallying four straight from Nov. 14-23 of the 2021-22 season when he was a member of Kennesaw State. Additionally, Jalen Tot <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jalen-tot/10129> tallied nine points, his Mountaineer best, and a team-best three 3-pointers.
*How it Happened* In the lone high-major game on the Mountaineers' schedule, Jennings scored the game's first points after finding the paint for a short jumper. Brandon Noel, who scored a game-best 17 points, recorded the first Buckeye points to tie the game, but Jennings gave App State a three-point lead at the 17:25 mark with a 3-pointer to make it 5-2.
Neither team scored for nearly the next three minutes, but it was App State that broke the cold spell, seeing Luke Wilson <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/luke-wilson/10103> finish a layup through contact to put it up five. The Mountaineers continued to play strong defense to start the game, as Ohio State missed 10 of its first 11 shots, before the Mountaineers hit on another three, this time by Tot, to put them up eight with 13:57 to play.
The Buckeyes sank two free throws to end their scoreless spell, but App State kept its foot on the pedal and tallied seven of the next 11 points to go up by nine by the halfway point of the first half. Jennings and Andrin Njock <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/andrin-njock/10100> helped spark the run with points before Cristoph Tilly ended the fray with a basket.
With their lead at seven, Jason Clarke Jr. <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/jason-clarke-jr-/10096> soared his way into the paint and hit a reverse layup to make the score 19-10 App State. After a miss on the other end, Njock netted his second 3-pointer of the game to put the Mountaineers ahead 12, their largest lead of the game, forcing a Buckeye timeout.
Ohio State scored a basket to pull back within 10 with 6:55 to go, and then hit a 3-pointer to make it 15-23 a possession later. Clarke Jr. tallied a layup to push App State back ahead by 10 with 5:29 to go, and head coach Dustin Kerns <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/dustin-kerns/1626> called a timeout with the momentum fully on the side of the Mountaineers as play neared halftime.
Out of the timeout, the Buckeyes got to work to trim the deficit and did just that as they tallied four straight points to make it a six-point game by the final media break of the opening frame. Then, John Mobley Jr. made a layup and four free throws to tie the score at 25 with 1:15 to go. Two more free throws by Mobley gave Ohio State its first lead with 33 seconds to play, and Bruce Thornton's three at the buzzer gave Ohio State a five-point lead, capping off a 15-0 run over the final five minutes of the half.
Despite the poor close to the half, App State's defense was solid to start the game as it held the Buckeyes to just eight made field goals on 28 attempts (28.6 percent). Jennings paced App State's offensive attack with seven first-half points, with Njock following closely behind with six. Ohio State shot 13 of its 32 free throws in the opening half and made 12 of them.
Needing a spark to open the half, App State saw buckets from Wilson and Clarke Jr. to make the score 33-29 just two minutes into the final frame, but Ohio State kept itself away from App State by drilling two threes and a free throw to go up by double digits by the first media timeout.
Thornton capped off a four-point play out of the timeout to make it 41-29, but Michael Marcus Jr. <appstatesports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/michael-marcus-jr-/10099> buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key to pull the Mountaineers within nine with 15 minutes to play in the game.
Following the Marcus Jr. three, Ohio State scored 16 straight points, its second run of at least 15 points in the game, to take a commanding 25-point lead at the 9:24 mark. Jennings' 3-point bucket ended App State's seven-minute scoreless drought, but Noel hit on a layup out of a media timeout to make the score 59-35 with 8:02 to play.
Noel accounted for eight of the next 10 Buckeye points to push them ahead by 27 with just over four minutes to play. Tot hit on his second 3-pointer of the game to end a 9-4 Buckeye run to make it 68-44 by the final timeout of the game. Ohio State retaliated with a 3-pointer and four free throws to go up 28, its largest advantage of the game, with 90 seconds to play.
Although the Mountaineers scored the final six points of the game, it was too late as the Buckeyes claimed a home win to make them 3-0 on the season.
*Top Performers* Jennings' 12 points paced the Mountaineers on Tuesday as he reached double figures for the fourth straight game to open the season. Tot followed closely behind with nine points to match his Mountaineer high that he set last Wednesday against Carolina University, and buried a season-high three treys, which was the most in the game by any player. Both Njock and Clarke Jr. scored eight points, with Clarke Jr.'s tally marking his career best. Clarke Jr. was 3-4 from the field and also dished out two assists.
*Up Next* App State will stay on the road for its next game, as it travels to Hanover, N.H., to take on the Dartmouth Big Green on Sunday. It will mark the Mountaineers' first game vs. an Ivy League school since March 8, 2010. Tipoff from Leede Arena is set for noon, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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