BOONE Admittedly, it was a game neither team was all that interested in playing.

At least the Mountaineers were able to finish the day with a smile on their faces. Appalachian State simply outlasted Winthrop 76-64 Saturday in an unusual BracketBuster game between teams who looked busted weeks ago.

It was Appalachian State's second win in a row heading into the final week of Southern Conference play. It was Winthrop's fourth loss in its past five heading into next Saturday's Big South finale at UNC Asheville.

After the game, Appalachian State coach Jason Capel talked about his four-man senior class "persevering through trying times," but he said he was thankful for the brief respite in a season that hadn't gone as planned.

"This gives them a chance to finish their story," Capel said. "It's a process, and the process is not always fun. You want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the season, in February and March.

"We're getting better, and we're taking the steps we need to take to get where we want to be."

The Mountaineers (12-15) rode the physical post presence of 290-pounder Isaac Butts, who celebrated senior night with 15 points and 15 rebounds. For large portions of the game, the Eagles were simply unable to get around Butts and Winthrop was outrebounded 37-33.

Winthrop (11-18) didn't look like Winthrop for a number of reasons.

The lack of its normal defensive intensity was the most evident. But most importantly, the Eagles again proved it's nearly impossible to win without a significant contribution from senior guard Andre Jones.

Jones finished with four points on 2-of-11 shooting in 28 minutes and didn't score his first bucket until almost eight minutes into the second half.

Jones averages a team-leading 16.9 points per game.