Mountaineers Fall to Hampton in Final Non-Conference Game of Season

HAMPTON, VA. -- The Appalachian State men's basketball team dropped its final non-conference contest of the season at Hampton on Wednesday evening by a 86-53 score.

Junior Ronshad Shabazz (Raleigh, N.C./Huntington Prep) paced the Mountaineers (5-8) with 17 points, four rebounds and a steal.

Freshman Justin Forrest (Decatur, Ga./Greenforest McCalep Christian Academy) added 12 points (10 in the second half), three rebounds and a career-high four steals. Sophomore Isaac Johnson (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) finished with 10 points, including a season-high tying six free throws, seven rebounds, two assists and a season-high tying two steals.

Malique Trent-Street poured in a game-high 21 points off the bench, while Jermaine Marrow posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates (5-8).

After the Mountaineers opened a 18-12 lead, the Pirates answered right back with eight straight points to take a 20-18 lead with 8:27 remaining in the opening half.
 
The Apps would respond with a pair of free throws from Isaac Johnson to tie the score. From there, Hampton would finish the half on a 19-2 run to take a 39-22 lead into the intermission.
 
In the second half, the Pirates would countine to expand their lead, holding a 61-40 advantage. The Apps would cut the lead the 15 points at 61-46 on back-to-back three-pointers by Shabazz and Forrest.
 
But Hampton came right back with the next six points to build its lead back up to 21 points and put the game away. 

The Pirates shot 31-of-60 (51.7 percent) from the field, while the Mountaineers went 17-of-59 (28.8 percent) Hampton also won the rebounding battle 45-32. App State pulled down 15 offensive rebounds in the contest, marking the fifth time they have had at least 15 offensive boards in a game this season.
 
Appalachian State will play next on December 29, when it opens Sun Belt play inside the Holmes Center versus Texas State at 7:30 p.m.