CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Appalachian State men's basketball opened play at the Charleston Classic with a 92-70 setback to No. 23-ranked Purdue on Thursday evening.
The Mountaineers fall to 1-2 on the season, while the Boilermakers remain perfect at 3-0.
Justin Forrest paced the Black and Gold with a team-high 14 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the free throw line, and four rebounds.
Off the bench,
Joseph Battle tallied a career-high 11 points on 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) shooting and
Adrian Delph finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) shooting.
Purdue jumped out a early 13-2 lead and built a 39-21 advantage late in the first half. App State trimmed the lead to 11 points at 43-32 on back-to-back three-pointers from
Breki Gylfason. The Boilermakers scored the final three points of the half and took a 46-32 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, Purdue built its lead up to 20 points at 55-35 with just over 17 minutes left in the game. The Black and Gold answered with a 10-2 spurt to pull within 57-45 with 14:25 remaining. From there, the Boilermakers used a 16-4 run to open a 73-49 edge and put the game away.Â
Carsen Edwards led four Boilermakers in double figures with a game-high 25 points. Ryan Cline added 21 points and Nojel Eastern and Matt Haarms each finished with 10 points.
Appalachian State will have a quick turnaround and will take on Wichita State on Friday on ESPNUÂ at 4:30 p.m. on the second day of the Charleston Classic.
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