Men's Basketball to Face Little Rock in First Round of Sun Belt Tournament

NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Appalachian State men's basketball team opens play in the Sun Belt Tournament against Little Rock at Lakefron Arena in New Orleans at 3 p.m. EST (2 p.m. CST) on Wednesday. The Mountaineers enter contest as the fifth seed, with the Trojans seeded 12th. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN3.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• This will be the Black and Gold's second appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament.
• Last season, the Mountaineers fell in the first round 84-64 to eventual tournament champion Troy.

THE SERIES

• This will be the 11th time these two teams have met, with the Trojans holding a 6-4 lead.
• App State swept the season series this season, winning 72-67 in overtime in Boone and 69-67 in Little Rock. 

EARLIER THIS SEASON

• These two teams met in Boone January 25, with the Mountaineers prevailing in overtime 72-67.
• O'Showen Williams tallied a team-high 13 points, four rebounds and a team-high six assists.
• Justin Forrest finished with 10 points and Griffin Kinney tallied a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Isaac Johnson also had 11 rebounds in the win.
• App State erased an 11-point second half deficit to send the game into overtime. In the extra session, Craig Hinton broke a 65-65 tie with a three-pointer. The Black and Gold would allow allow the Trojans to score two more points and hit four free throws to put the game away.
• The team would also square off in Little Rock on February 24, with the Apps prevailing 69-67.
• Ronshad Shabazz tallied 18 points and Justin Forrest also had 18 points, to go along with three rebounds and four assists.
• App State opened an eight-point first half lead only to see Little Rock tie the score at 33-33 at the break. Late in the game, Forrest drained a three-pointer to give the Black and Gold a 61-59 lead. Clinging to a three-point lead, Tyrell Johnson had a key block with 30 seconds left to secure the victory.

LAST TIME OUT

• App State posted a 76-67 victory over Coastal Carolina in its regular season finale on Saturday.
• Playing in their final home games in Boone, Craig Hinton and Griffin Kinney combined for 38 points and 18 rebounds. Hinton poured in a career-best 20 points on a career-high seven made field goals, to go along with a career-high tying 10 rebounds. It marked his first double-double of the season. Kinney chipped in with 18 points on 6-of-8 (75.0 percent) shooting and eight rebounds.
• The Black and Gold built an early 11-6 lead and took a 38-33 advantage into the intermission. The Mountaineers would expand their lead to as many as 14 points in the second half and fended off a later Chanticleer rally in the final minutes for the nine-point win.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• Appalachian State finished the regular season with a 14-17 mark and finished in a tie for fifth in the Sun Belt with a 9-9 record.
• Ronshad Shabazz earned his second straight All-Sun Belt honor, after being named Second Team All-Sun Belt. He earned Third Team All-Sun Belt accolades last season.
• Tyrell Johnson has reached double figures in three of his last five games and is averaging 10.2 points and 3.8 rebounds during that span.
• The Black and Gold feature six players averaging over 7.0 ppg. Ronshad Shabazz leads the way, averaging 18.9 ppg, with Justin Forrest (13.2 ppg) and Griffin Kinney (10.1 ppg) also averaging double figures. Tyrell Johnson (7.5 ppg), O'Showen Williams (7.5 ppg) and Isaac Johnson (7.2 ppg) are also averaging over 7.0 ppg.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS

• Little Rock scored a 72-61 overtime upset of league leading Louisiana in its final game of the regular season on Saturday.
• Ryan Pippins had 19 points, Oliver Black added a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds and Kris Bankston added 14 points. Off the bench, Cameron Corcoran tallied 10 points.
• Pippins (7.7 ppg) leads a balanced offensive attack for the Trojans, which features seven players averaging at least 6.0 ppg. Camron Reedus is averaging 7.3 ppg and Anthony Black is averaging 7.0 ppg.
• Oliver Black is pulling down a team-high 7.0 rpg, with Jaizec Lottie leading the team in assists (90) and steals (31).

NEXT UP
The winner of Wednesday's contest will advance to the Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals and play fourth seed Texas Arlington on Friday at 3 p.m. EST (2 p.m. CST).