App State Strings Two Conference Wins Together, Keeps ULM Winless

The App State men’s basketball team was 7-5 on the season before conference play started. Since then, they had alternated wins and losses within conference play. That streak ended in Boone early Friday afternoon, after App State defeated ULM -.

ULM traveled to down to Boone from Huntington, W.Va, where they had just lost 115-60 to Marshall a day earlier. The schedule being greatly effected by the impending winter storm expected to impact a large portion of the I-95 corridor as soon as Saturday.

App State faced a similar turnaround themselves, although they had the advantage of not having to travel. They too had a game just 24 hours prior against the Cajuns, which they won, 72-58. This pair of wins has helped them complete the season sweep of the Louisiana foes. ULM now remains winless in Sun Belt competition.

The game got off to a great start for the home Mountaineers. Three dunks, a three pointer, and two free throws allowed the black and gold to jump out to an early 10-0 lead. It wasn’t until 16:45 before the Warhawks Ayomide Bamisile made a layup for ULM’s first points.

Scoop and score. #TakeTheStairs pic.twitter.com/4mlpSCxunx

— App State Basketball (@AppStateMBB) January 23, 2026

From there, the Warhawks would claw their way back with a 12-0 run of their own to actually take the lead, 14-10. MJ Russell, the leading scorer in the game (21) would grab seven of those points himself during the run.

Russell would be the only Warhawk to score in double figures however, going 6-14 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. ULM’s struggle to shoot well, paired with being out rebounded 56-41 in this game, gave the Mountaineers every opportunity they needed to grab the lead back before halftime, 28-20.

Closed the half on an 8-0 run. #TakeTheStairs pic.twitter.com/Blobbfj4di

— App State Basketball (@AppStateMBB) January 23, 2026

The low scoring affair would stretch into the second half as well. The Mountaineers slowly built toward a 20 point lead, at one point stretching the score to 47-27. The Warhawks would only battle back enough to cut it down to just a 12 point lead with 3:31 to go in the game. That would be the closest ULM would be however, as App State outscored them 7-3 down the final stretch.

Michael Marcus Jr. and Luke Wilson secured double-doubles on the day going for 14 points a piece with Marcus Jr. grabbing 14 boards and Wilson securing 12. These two Mountaineers helped App State dominate on the defensive glass, chipping into the team total of 40 defensive rebounds and only allowing the Warhawks to grab 10 on their offensive side.

And now Mike’s got a double-double 💪

His third of the year.#TakeTheStairs pic.twitter.com/WVUuqfQTjb

— App State Basketball (@AppStateMBB) January 23, 2026

Eren Banks struggles continue after the injury at Marshall back in early January. He saw 27 minutes on the court though, which is approaching his early season minutes totals and could help him regain the form that saw him hit double digits in three games previously. So far this season, when Banks hits that double digit mark, the Mountaineers have yet to lose.

With the week of Sun Belt play over early for both teams, they should be well rested before their next matchups on Thursday January 29th. The Warhawks (3-18, 0-9) will host Georgia Southern (13-8, 5-3) while App State (13-9, 6-4) will travel on the road to face the other black and gold team, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (11-10, 5-4).