BOONE, N.C. – The Appalachian State men's basketball team limited Troy to just 27.6 percent shooting in a 65-54 victory on Saturday afternoon inside the Holmes Center.
The Trojans (13-14, 7-8 SBC) went just 16-of-58 from the field and 4-of-26 (15.4 percent) on three-pointers. Both percentages marked season lows for Troy. In the first half, the Trojans went 9-of-30 (30.0 percent) from the field and 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) from deep. The Mountaineers (12-16, 7-8 SBC) continued to contest every shot in the second half and held Troy to just 25.0 percent (7-of-28) shooting and a 13.3 percent (2-of-15) mark from beyond the arc.
App State opened the game strong, scoring the first 13 points in the first three and a half minutes to build an early advantage.
After Troy would trim the Black and Gold lead to five points, the Apps countered with the next seven points to push their lead back to 12 points at 24-12 with 10:22 left in the opening stanza.
App State held the lead for the remainder of the half and took a 34-27 edge into the break.
Just like the first half, the Black and Gold had a strong opening to the second half, building a 49-29 lead thanks a 15-3 run over the first eight minutes.
Troy would battle back and used an 8-0 run to pull within 14 points at 55-41, with just over seven minutes to play.
The Trojans would continue to chip away at the Mountaineer lead and pulled to within eight points on a three-pointer from Troy's Jordon Varnado with 1:26 to play. App State would get a free throw from junior
Tyrell Johnson (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson) to push the lead back to nine points at 61-52 with 1:13 remaining.
Following a Troy missed three, the Black and Gold would turn the ball over and Darian Adams converted on a layup with 43 seconds left to bring the Trojans within seven.
Sophomore
O'Showen Williams (Macon, Ga./Stratford Academy) was then fouled and drained a pair of free throws to make the score 63-54 with 36 seconds to play.
App State would force a tough three that was no good.
Isaac Johnson (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) pulled down the rebound and sophomore
Justin Forrest (Decatur, Ga./Greenforest McCalep Christian Academy) was fouled. He would hit both free throws to make the score 65-54 and put the game away.
Junior
Ronshad Shabazz (Raleigh, N.C./Huntington Prep) finished with a team-high 15 points and three assists. Senior
Griffin Kinney (Delware, Ohio/Fork Union Military Academy) added 12 points on 6-of-8 (75.0 percent) shooting and eight rebounds.
Forrest had 10 points and seven rebounds, while
Isaac Johnson finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. It marked the second straight game and 11th time this season
Isaac Johnson had had 10 or more rebounds in a game.
Varnado paced the Trojans with game-highs of 30 points and 13 rebounds.
App State also dominated the points in the paint battle, outscoring Troy 38-18.
The Mountaineers will be back at it on Thursday for the first of two road games in Arkansas. App State will take on Arkansas State on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST and then play at Little Rock on February 24 at 6 p.m. EST.
