Box Score BOONE, N.C. – Tommy Spagnolo recorded his sixth double-double of the season and Frank Eaves added 15 points and a career-high-tying seven rebounds to lead Appalachian State University men's basketball to its third-straight win, a 64-53 Sun Belt Conference triumph over South Alabama on Thursday evening at the Holmes Center.

With the victory, Appalachian State (7-10, 4-4 Sun Belt) matched its longest winning streak of the season and pulled to .500 in Sun Belt play for the first time since it split its first two conference games of the campaign on Jan. 3-5. The Mountaineer victory also snapped a two-game winning streak for the Jaguars (6-13, 4-5) and avenged a 104-95 loss when the teams met in Mobile, Ala. on Jan. 8.

The game was a back-and-forth affair for much of the evening, featuring eight lead changes and six ties through the first 26 minutes of the contest.

However, after USA took a 36-35 advantage on a Taishaun Johnson layup with just under 14 minutes to go in the ballgame, the Mountaineers answered with a 23-7 run, capped by a Jake Babic three-pointer that gave Appalachian a 58-43 lead with 6:28 remaining. App State maintained the double-digit advantage the rest of the way to earn a two-game season split with the Jaguars.

Neither team was able to gain much of an advantage in a tightly-contested first half despite going ahead by two scores on multiple occasions. USA was the first to gain a two-score edge when it grabbed a 13-9 lead on John Brown's dunk with 11:40 in the first frame.

Appalachian State responded with a 13-4 run over the next seven minutes to grab their largest lead of the first half at 22-17 on an Eaves three-pointer with 4:20 on the clock. South Alabama tied the game at 28-28 when Brown nailed a shot from long range with 26 seconds to go but Spagnolo hit a layup jut seconds before the end of the half to send the Apps to the locker room with a 30-28 halftime lead.

The Apps extended their lead to five points (35-30) in the first five minutes of the second half, but the Jaguars scored six-straight points to regain the advantage, 36-35, when Johnson nailed a fastbreak layup with 13:50 to play.

That's when the Mountaineers turned it on, scoring 23 points over the next seven-plus minutes to put the game completely out of reach. Spagnolo hit just his fourth three-pointer of the year to put the Mountaineers back in front, 38-36, and it was game over from there as Appalachian hit three more shots from beyond the arc during the run and sent the Jaguars to their fifth league loss.

Spagnolo finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Eaves added five assists to his 15 points and seven boards. Griffin Kinney and Jacob Lawson both had strong showings off the bench as each finished with seven points, three rebounds and a block.

South Alabama was paced by Ken Williams' game-high 16 points, but no other Jaguar was able to score in double figures as the Mountaineers held USA to just 36.0 percent (18-of-50) from the floor, the lowest for an Appalachian opponent this season.

Appalachian State also finished with a 41-30 edge in rebounds including a 13-6 advantage on the offensive glass. For the fourth-straight game, the Mountaineers finished with a double-digit assists total as they dished out 14 assists.

The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday when they square off against Texas State at 5:30 p.m. (ET) in San Marcos, Texas.

NOTES: Appalachian State improved to 1-1 all-time against South Alabama and 11-10 all-time against teams from the state of Alabama (2-2 this year with wins over South Alabama/Troy and losses to Alabama/South Alabama) ... during its three-game winning streak, Appalachian State has recorded 47 assists on 79 made shots (59.5 percent) ... South Alabama's 53 points were a season-low for an Appalachian opponent and the lowest by any opponent since the Citadel scored 45 in Appalachian State's 54-45 win on Feb. 6, 2014 ... former Mountaineer and 2013 Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year Nathan Healy was in attendance at Thursday's game ... Healy has spent the last two years playing professionally in Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland ... Thursday marked the first time that Appalachian State has swept a doubleheader all year as the women topped South Alabama, 70-59 in the first game ... the Mountaineer coaching staff wore sneakers for the second-straight game in support of Coaches vs. Cancer ... more information on the initiative can be found HERE.