BOONE, N.C. -- Chris Burgess scored a career-high 24 points but it was not enough for Appalachian State University men's basketball to overcome a late 14-3 run by UALR that proved to be the difference in the Trojans' 79-74 win over the Mountaineers on Thursday evening at the Holmes Center.

Burgess made 6-of-11 shots from the field and 7-of-8 from three-point range, including a trey with 7:48 left in the ballgame that gave the Mountaineers (9-13, 6-7 Sun Belt) a 57-54 lead.

However, UALR (10-14, 5-9) scored 14 of the game's next 17 points to take a commanding 68-60 advantage with 3:51 to go. Appalachian didn't get closer than five points the rest of the way.

Thursday's first half proved to be a back-and-forth battle in which neither team was able to gain considerable momentum until Appalachian State mustered an 11-6 run midway through the opening period.

After Mareik Isom pulled the Trojans within three (21-18) on a jumper with 9:01 on the clock, Burgess answered with a three that sparked the run. Jacob Lawson finished off the run by converting an old-fashioned three-point play to give App State its largest lead of the game (32-24) with just over five minutes to play.

Despite gaining momentum, Appalachian was unable to keep UALR at bay as the Trojans ended the half on a 13-3 run to knot the game at 37-37 at the half.

The second half began much like the first, with neither team able to gain much of an early advantage. UALR was able to build a five-point lead (54-49) with 9:24 to play, but the Mountaineers reeled off an 8-0 run to grab a 57-54 lead on Burgess' three with just under eight minutes remaining.

UALR hit back-to-back three to take back the lead (60-57) and would never trail again as it built an eight-point lead (68-60) with 3:51 to go and picked up crucial defensive stops down the stretch to complete the season-sweep of Appalachian State.

In addition to his game-high 24 points, Burgess also dished out four assists and grabbed three rebounds. Jake Babic added 13 in his second-straight start and came away with a career-best six assists. Tommy Spagnolo added 12 points and Dustin Clarke fell just shy of a double-double with eight points and a career-high-tying nine rebounds.

Josh Hagins paced the Trojans with 14 points and tallied six assists and four rebounds. Reid added 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting while Maurius Hill (12) and Ben Dillard (11) also scored in double figures.

UALR shot 58.0 percent (29-of-50) from the floor, including an incredible 64.0 percent in the second half and pulled down 33 rebounds to Appalachian's 29. The Mountaineers shot 46.9 percent (23-of-49), including an impressive 20-of-26 (76.9 percent) from the free-throw line.

Appalachian returns to action on Saturday when it heads to Sun Belt co-leader UL Monroe for a 3 p.m. (ET) showdown at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

NOTES: Appalachian State fell to 1-3 all-time against UALR ... the Mountaineers are a combined 4-6 all-time against teams from the state of Arkansas ... the Apps will finish the year 1-3 against the Sun Belt's two schools from Arkansas (Arkansas State and UALR) ... the Mountaineer bench was outscored 48-16 ... Frank Eaves was held under 10 points for just the fifth time this season.