BOONE, N.C. – The Appalachian State men's basketball team nearly overcame a 29-point second half deficit, but fell 93-88 to Arkansas State on Saturday afternoon inside the Holmes Center.
The Red Wolves (8-14, 3-6 SBC) built a 56-32 halftime lead and pushed their advantage to as large as 65-36 with just over 16 minutes to play.
The Mountaineers (9-14, 4-6 SBC) mounted a furious rally and would cut the lead down to eight points with 3:57 left to play on a basket by junior
Ronshad Shabazz (Raleigh, N.C./Huntington Prep).
The Apps continued to cut away at the lead and Shabazz brought the Mountaineers within six points at 83-77, on a pair of free throws.
The Red Wolves answered with a basket, but Shabazz drew another foul with 56.8 seconds left. He would hit both freebies making the score 85-79 in favor of Arkansas State.
The Mountaineers would cut the deficit to five points three times over the next 30 seconds, before freshman
Justin Forrest (Decatur, Ga./Greenforest McCalep Christian Academy) drained a three-pointer and was fouled on the play. He would miss the free throw and the Black and Gold trailed 92-88 with 14 seconds left.
Grantham Gillard of Arkansas State pulled down the rebound off the missed free throw and was fouled with 11.7 seconds. He made one of two free throws. The Mountaineers would miss two threes in the final seconds to give Arkansas State the win.
Shabazz finished with a game-high 27 points, 20 of which came in the second half, on 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) shooting and a 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) mark on three-pointers. Forrest added 15 points, three rebounds and four assists.
Tyrell Johnson (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson) added 14 points and six boards, while sophomore
O'Showen Williams (Macon, Ga./Stratford Academy) had 11 points and three assists off the bench. Sophomore
Isaac Johnson (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) tallied his first double-double of the season and second of his career with 10 points and 12 rebounds (seven offensive).
Simms paced Arkansas State with 23 points and Cockfield added 20. Marquis Eaton chipped in with 16 points and Gillard had 13 in a reserve role.
The Black and Gold finished 31-of-63 (49.2 percent) in shooting and 14-of-28 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Red Wolves went 31-of-61 (50.8 percent) from the field and 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) from deep.
The Mountaineers will hit the road for their next two games, taking on UT Arlington on Thursday at 8:15 EST and Texas State on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
