BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University's Donald Sims forced overtime with a wild three-pointer at the buzzer, but Damian Eargle's layup gave UNC Greensboro the lead with less than a minute to play and UNCG held on to deal ASU (6-6, 3-1 SoCon) an 85-83 overtime setback and its first SoCon loss of the season on Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center.

Greensboro (2-11, 1-3 SoCon) got on the board first with a jumper on its first possession, but the Apps responded almost immediately as Kellen Brand got to the basket for a layup.

A pair of Ryann Abraham three-pointers then gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the game two and a half minutes in, 8-4. Brand finished with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting while Abraham led the team with a career-high 21 points and six assists.

The Spartans took a brief lead at 11-10 before a pair of layups and two treys to regain the advantage, 20-15. Four of the team's first eight field goals were from beyond the arc as ASU converted 5-of-16 longballs in the first half. Five of the team's 11 field goals were threes in the opening 20 minutes, compared to just 1-of-12 for the Spartans.

UNCG held a 31-30 advantage at the break but Isaac Butts found Josh Hunter for a layup and three-point play on the first possession of the half to regain a 33-31 lead.

Hunter again led the Apps in rebounding with 11 to go along with nine points.

Greensboro responded with five-straight points but Butts then picked up a bucket and foul to tie the game for a sixth time at 33-33 two minutes into the half.

The half was back and forth and neither team led by more than three points for the first 10 minutes of the half, when UNCG broke a tie with a 4-0 run to take a 52-48 lead. The Apps responded with two Abraham free throws, a Marcus Wright trey and an Andre Williamson transition layup to take a 55-52 lead.

Williamson scored four points with three boards in 15 minutes on the floor.

ASU increased the lead to 60-54 on a layup by Abraham forcing the Spartans to call a timeout.

Greensboro closed to within four points at 62-58 before Sims nailed an open three for a seven-point advantage with five to play. The Spartans would not go quietly and rallied to a 65-65 tie just under the three-minute mark. The teams traded the lead three more times over the next two minutes before UNCG moved ahead 71-70 in the final minute, forcing the Apps to foul.

Sims hit 5-of-11 threes in the game as the Apps converted 37.9 percent in the game. The sophomore finished the game with 15 points and three of the team's 18 assists.

Mikko Koivisto sank a pair of free throws with 23 ticks left on the clock to give the Spartans a 73-70 lead, before a last-second off-balance three by Sims sent the game to overtime.

Hunter put ASU on the board first in the extra period with a putback layup. Koivisto then scored five-straight for the visitors with a three and-pointers and to free throws. Butts got a tip-in of his own to cut the deficit to 78-77 two minutes into the frame.

Butts got a block on the defensive end and Hunter converted two free throws on the other end for a 79-78 lead. The teams again traded buckets to lead to an 81-80 advantage with 1:36 to play.

Butts scored 11 points and hauled in eight boards over 27 minutes after being saddled with foul trouble in the second half.

The Spartans regained the lead on a Stywall layup but a Butts layup once again gave back the lead to ASU. With 55 seconds remaining, Damian Eargle scored four-straight points to give UNCG an 84-81 lead with just 27 seconds remaining. Eargle's 25 points were the most by a UNCG freshman in 16 seasons.

Abraham nailed two free-throws to close the gap to one at 84-83. Stywall made one of two free-throws, but Abraham's layup with three seconds left missed off the left side of the rim. Marcus Wright grabbed the rebound but he couldn't get his desperation shot off in time. The shot left his hands within a second of the game ending, and in a cruel twist of fate, swished through the net.

The last time the Spartans started 0-3 in SoCon action was the last time UNCG defeated Appalachian on its home court in 2004-05.

The Mountaineers close out a three-game homestand on Monday as Davidson visits the Holmes Center at 7:30 p.m.