BOONE, N.C. – Sophomore
Isaac Johnson (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) tallied his second double-double of the season, but the Appalachian State men's basketball team fell 77-66 inside the Holmes Center to South Alabama on Thursday evening.
Isaac Johnson finished the game with 13 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. He posted a near double-double in the second half alone with 11 points and nine rebounds. It also marks the third double-double of his career.
Senior
Griffin Kinney (Delaware, Ohio/Fork Union Military Academy) added a team-high 19 points on 8-of-11 (72.7 percent), nine rebounds (four offensive) and a season-high tying four assists. Junior
Tyrell Johnson (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson) chipped in 10 points and a season-high tying seven rebounds.
Josh Ajayi recorded a double-double for South Alabama (14-12, 7-6 SBC) with game-highs of 26 points and 14 rebounds. Rodrick Sikes added 24 points.
South Alabama opened the game strong and used an early 8-0 run to build a 17-6 lead with 13:17 left in the first half.
The Jaguars would push their lead to 27-16 at the 6:29 mark of the first half. From there, the Mountaineers (11-16, 6-8 SBC) would close the half on a 16-4 run to take a 32-31 lead into the break.
The second half was tight throughout, with the Jaguars using a 6-0 spurt to build a 62-57 lead with 4:40 remaining.
South Alabama would push its lead to 69-62 with 2:58 to play on a three-pointer from Jordan Andrews.
Trailing 70-63, junior
Ronshad Shabazz (Raleigh, N.C./Huntington Prep) drained a trey to bring the Apps within four points with 1:16 to go.
From there, the Jaguars would score seven straight points from the charity stripe to open a 11-point advantage and put the game away.
App State went 23-of-57 (40.4 percent) from the field, while South Alabama was 24-of-57 (42.1 percent). The Black and Gold won the rebounding battle 39-36 and scored 18 second chance points on 10 offensive rebounds.
The Mountaineers will welcome Troy to the Holmes Center in another key Sun Belt showdown at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. App State will be hosting Access to Success, who will be collecting new or like new shoes to provide sustainable programs that generate positive change for Nigerian children and their communities through education, faith and sports. Fans are also encouraged to stop by the table to enter to win a team autographed basketball. A bonus ticket will be rewarded with donation of a pair of shoes.
In addition, Saturday is also youth day. All youth ages 12 and under will be admitted into the game for free. Mountaineer basketball alum Omar Carter will be on hand for the Healthy Heard Collaborative, which will promote cardiovascular health in the High Country community. At halftime, the Appalachian State football team will also be honored for their 2017 season.
