Box Score ATLANTA – Appalachian State University men's basketball was held to its lowest scoring total in almost seven years as it dropped its fourth-straight Sun Belt conference contest, 87-43, to Georgia State on Saturday at GSU Sports Arena.

The Mountaineers (9-16, 6-10 Sun Belt) were held scoreless for the opening three and a half minutes of play as the Panthers( (19-8, 12-4) stayed in the hunt for a regular-season conference title.

Georgia State opened the game on a 6-0 run and never took its foot off the gas as it dealt Appalachian its worst loss in nearly two decades and exacted revenge for a stunning 74-69 loss when the teams met in Boone a month ago.

Ryan Harrow and R.J. Hunter, the Sun Belt's top two scorers, scored the first four points of the game and combined for 42 points on the day as the Panthers cruised to their fourth-straight win and held their sixth-straight opponent under 30.0 percent from the floor.

Appalachian State shot just 18.5 percent (5-of-27) and scored a season-low 13 first-half points as Georgia State raced out to an early double-digit lead (15-5) when T.J. Shipes hit a layup just six and a half minutes in.

Dustin Clarke hit a three-pointer with 12:56 on the clock to cut the deficit to just nine points (17-8), but GSU reeled off an 8-0 run over the next four-plus minutes to stretch its lead to 19 (27-8) with just over eight minutes to play in the opening half.

Georgia State grabbed its first 20-point lead on Markus Crider's dunk with 5:38 on the clock and finished the first half on a 12-0 run to take a 44-13 lead into the locker room.                                                                                                          

While the Mountaineers shot significantly better in the second half (39.3 percent), it would never cut the deficit to less than 36 points and saw GSU's lead balloon to 50 points (87-37) with just under three minutes to play. Landon Goesling scored four of Appalachian State's final six points to make it 87-43 at the end.

Goesling and Mike Kobani finished as App State's leading scorers with seven points each while Goesling also tied for a team-high four rebounds. None of Appalachian State's starters scored more than six points and Chris Burgess was held scoreless for the first time this season.

The Panthers were paced by 22 points from Hunter, who also dished out a game-high eight assists, and got 20 points from Harrow. Crider fell just shy of a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds.

On the day, GSU shot an impressive 58.2 percent (32-of-55) from the floor while holding the Mountaineers to 29.1 percent (15-of-55) and won the rebounding battle by a 34-29 tally. The Panthers also forced 18 Appalachian turnovers, which led directly to 35 points.

Appalachian State returns to action on Thursday when it hosts arch rival Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m. as part of a season-ending, four-game homestand.

NOTES: Appalachian State fell to 1-3 all-time against Georgia State ... the Mountaineers' 43 points were their lowest since a 78-43 loss at Texas on Jan. 2, 2009 ... the 44-point margin of defeat was the most since a 103-59 loss to Indiana on Dec. 29, 1995 ... the 13 first-half points were the fewest in a single half since the Apps scored nine in the first half of a 69-37 loss at Virginia Tech on Dec. 10, 2006 ... Georgia State finished with a 40-18 edge in the paint and a 21-5 advantage on the fast break ... GSU Sports Arena was used as the racquetball venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta ... 10 different Mountaineers played at least 10 minutes in the game.