Mountaineers Fall in Shootout at South Alabama
Mountaineers Fall in Shootout at South Alabama
Box Score MOBILE, Ala. – Despite its largest scoring output against an NCAA Division I opponent in nearly five years, Appalachian State University men's basketball was unable to overcome a hot-shooting South Alabama squad in a 104-95 loss in Sun Belt Conference play on Thursday at the Mitchell Center.

The Mountaineers (4-8, 1-2 Sun Belt) put up their most points against a Division I foe since a 111-83 win over Georgia Southern on Feb. 13, 2010, but it was not enough to overcome a tremendous offensive effort by the Jaguars (4-10, 2-2), who put up their most points since a 102-62 win against Alcorn State on Dec. 11, 2011.

South Alabama got off to a quick start, reeling off a 7-0 run to open the game while holding Appalachian scoreless for the first three minutes of action. The Apps would never lead in the contest and despite several runs throughout the game, were never able to cut the deficit to less than five points at any time in the game.

It took just under seven minutes for the Jaguars to take their first double-digit lead of the game (16-6) when Abdul Lewis hit a free throw with 13:17 to play in the first half. South Alabama pushed the lead to 14 points (29-15) when Lewis connected on a jumper with 9:38 on the clock.

The Mountaineers would claw their way back over the next five and a half minutes, piecing together a 14-5 run to cut the deficit to just five points (34-29) on a pair of free throws from Tommy Spagnolo with 4:04 to go in the opening period.

South Alabama would regain momentum when it ended the half on a 14-4 run to take a 48-33 lead into the locker room. Ken Williams, who finished with a game-high 26 points, scored 16 points in the first half and was a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Appalachian mustered one final run in the second half, firing off a 23-13 run to open the period and cut the lead to five points one final time (61-56) when Griffin Kinney nailed a free throw with 12:03 on the clock.

It would be all the closer the Mountaineers would get as South Alabama kept its foot on the gas and put the game out of reach with a 19-10 run over the next four minutes to extend its lead to 14 points (80-66) and would not see its lead fall below 10 points until the final two seconds of the game, when Frank Eaves hit a pair of free throws to make the final 104-95.

The Jaguars shot a blistering 61.2 percent (30-of-49) from the floor and connected on 58.8 percent (10-of-17) of their shots from beyond the arc while App State connected on 46.3 percent (31-of-67), including 10-of-20 from long range. Both teams were outstanding at the charity stripe as the Mountaineers connected on 23-of-28 free throws while South Alabama nailed 34-of-44.

Appalachian was paced by a team-best 21 points from Eaves, who led five players in double figures. Chris Burgess poured in 18 while Dustin Clarke scored a career-best 16. Spagnolo finished with 13 points and Milos Kostic chipped in with 11 off the bench.

Six different Jaguars notched double figures, led by Williams' 26 on 8-of-12 shooting. Dionte Ferguson finished with 19 while Georgi Boyanov (17), Taushaun Johnson (15), Abdul Lewis (11) and Barrington Stevens (10) all hit the double-digit mark.

The Mountaineers have a quick turnaround as they head to Little Rock, Ark. to take on UALR and wrap up a two game road trip. Tipoff from the Jack Stevens Center is set for 6 p.m. (ET).

NOTES: Appalachian State fell to 0-1 all-time against South Alabama and 15-17 when facing current Sun Belt teams in road/neutral site games ... the Mountaineers also dropped to 10-9 all-time against teams from the state of Alabama ... the 48 first-half points for the Jaguars were the most for an Appalachian opponent since Duquesne dropped 49 in the first half on Jan. 2, 2014 (L, 55-79) ... junior forward Rantavious Gilbert did not make the trip and is suspended indefinitely due to a violation of team rules ... South Alabama's shooting percentage was the highest for an App State opponent since NC State connected on 61.9 percent (39-of-63) on Nov. 8, 2013
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