CONWAY, S.C. -- Four players reached double figures, but Western Michigan used a 15-0 run to begin the second half en route to a 86-67 victory over Appalachian State on the second day of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Myrtle Beach.
With the score deadlocked at 40-40 at halftime, the Broncos (2-2) scored the first 15 points of the second half to build a 55-40 lead. A trey from freshman Justin Forrest (Macon, Ga./Greenforest McCalep Christian Academy) put an end to the run, where the Mountaineers went scoreless for a 7:41 stretch.
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Appalachian State (2-2) would battle back and pull to within seven points at 66-59 with 6:46 remaining, but WMU used a 13-2 run to put the game out of reach.
Junior
Ronshad Shabazz (Raleigh, N.C./Huntington Prep) paced the Mountaineers with 25 points, four assists and a steal. Shabazz has now scored 978 points in his career and is just 22 points shy of becoming the 32nd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
Sophomore
Isaac Johnson (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while senior
Griffin Kinney (Delaware, Ohio/Fork Union Military Academy) added 10 points and five boards.
Forrest chipped in with 13 points off the bench.
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App State trailed by as much as seven points in the early portion of the first half, before a 9-2 run, with five points coming from
Isaac Johnson, gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the game at 27-26 with 4:50 left in the opening frame.
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After the Broncos tied the score at 27-27, Forrest drained 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give the Black and Gold a 33-27 edge with 3:23 left in the first half.
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But WMU used a late 11-2 run and the teams headed into the break tied at 40-40.
The Mountaineers held a 42-38 advantage in rebounding, including a 14-9 edge on the glass.
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App State will close out play at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Myrtle Beach on Sunday with a 11:30 a.m. contest against UTEP. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.
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