Mountaineers Set to Battle Troy on Monday

TROY, Ala. -- The Appalachian State men's basketball team will return to the hardwood on Monday, taking on Troy in a road contest that will tip at 8:15 p.m. EST. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN3. The game is a makeup from a postponement on Thursday.

THE SERIES

• This is the ninth all-time meeting between the two schools, with the Mountaineers holding a 6-2 edge.
• After the Black and Gold won the first six meetings, the Trojans won both matchups last year, posting a 76-66 win in Troy and a 84-64 victory in the Sun Belt Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT

• App State dropped a 83-77 decision at South Alabama on Saturday.
• Five Mountaineers reached double figures in the game. Justin Forrest had a team-high 15 points, Griffin Kinney added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Tyrell Johnson tallied 10 points.
• Off the bench, Craig Hinton tied his career-high with 13 points, going a career-best 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the field and 3-of-4 (75.0 percent) on three-pointers. O'Showen Williams added 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.
• App State shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field and 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from deep.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• Appalachian State stands at 8-12 on the season and 3-4 in Sun Belt play, which ranks seventh in the conference.
• Ronshad Shabazz leads the team in scoring at 18.9 ppg and also has dished out a career-high and team leading 65 assists. Shabazz has scored 1,250 career points, which is tied with Kemp Phillips for 21st on the all-time scoring list and 17 points shy of passing Sam Gibson for 20th place.
• Forrest is also averaging double figures at 14.3 ppg. He also has posted a team-high 25 steals.
• In seven Sun Belt games, Hinton is averaging 7.9 ppg, going 19-of-28 (67.9 percent) from the field and 12-of-18 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc. He is also averaging 5.0 rebounds and has blocked six shots.
• Isaac Johnson is averaging 8.2 rebounds this season, which leads the team. He has recorded at least seven rebounds in 11 games on the year, including his last three.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS

• Troy dropped to 8-11 on the season and 2-4 in the Sun Belt after suffering a 74-73 loss at home to Coastal Carolina on Saturday.
• Jordon Varnado paced Troy with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal. Juan Davis Jr. added 14 points off the bench and Kevin Baker added 11.
• Wesley Person leads the team in scoring and ranks third in the Sun Belt in scoring, averaging 19.4 ppg. Varnado is averaging 17.3 ppg and Alex Hicks is averaging 11.9 ppg and is pulling down a team-best 8.2 rpg.

UP NEXT

• App State will return to the Holmes Center for two contests this week. The Mountaineers will host Little Rock on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and take on Arkansas State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.Tickets are still available for all remaining Appalachian State men's and women's home basketball games. Appalachian State basketball single game tickets can be purchased online by clicking here, by phone at (828) 262-2079 or in person at the Appalachian State athletics ticket office, located at the Holmes Center (Monday - Friday; 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.).