Mountaineers Eye Second Straight Road Win at Coastal Carolina on Saturday

CONWAY, S.C. -- After posting a road victory at Texas State on February 3, Appalachian State men's basketball will look for its second consecutive road victory at Coastal Carolina on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Both team enter the contest with identical 5-7 records in the Sun Belt, which is tied for eighth place.

THE SERIES

• These two times have played twice, splitting the pair of contests.
• Last season, each team won on their home floors with App State posting a 77-73 win in Boone and the Chanticleers winning 85-73 in Conway.

LAST TIME OUT

• In their last contest on February 3, the Black and Gold recorded a 59-56 win at Texas State.
• Griffin Kinney led the Apps with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting and seven rebounds. Ronshad Shabazz added 15 points.
• The Mountaineers played tough defense in the second half, holding the Bobcats to just 32.1 percent (9-of-28) shooting in the second half. In addition, Appalachian held Texas State without a field goal over the final 4:32 of the game.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• After their victory on Saturday, App State improved to 10-15 overall and 5-7 in Sun Belt play.
• The Mountaineers rank among the top teams in the Sun Belt in multiple categories, pulling down a league-high 39.8 rebounds per game averaging 76.9 points per game, which is third.
• Over his last six games, Griffin Kinney is averaging 11.0 points on 24-of-42 (57.1 percent) shooting and a 24-of-26 (92.3 percent) clip on free throws and 8.0 rebounds, with two double-doubles.
• Ronshad Shabazz needs just 16 more points to reach 500 for the season (would be 21st time in program history). He has reached double figures in 23 of 25 games this season.
• In 12 Sun Belt games this season, Isaac Johnson has reached double figures in five. He is averaging 8.2 rebounds in 12 Sun Belt games on the season.

SCOUTING THE CHANTICLEERS

• Coastal Carolina dropped to 11-14 overall and 5-7 in the Sun Belt after falling 87-80 at UT Arlington on February 3.
• Jaylen Shaw led five Chanticleers in double figures with a team-high 18 points. Zac Cuthbertson added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Demario Beck had 13 points off the bench, Tre Brown added 12 points in a reserve role and Artur Labinowicz finished with 10 points.
• Overall, Coastal Carolina is limiting teams to 40.5 percent shooting from the field, which is second in the Sun Belt. The Chanticleers also have a +6.7 rebounding margin, which is second in the league.
• Four players for the Chanticleers are averaging double figures in Cuthbertson (15.3 ppg), Shaw (14.9 ppg), Labinowicz (10.8 ppg) and Beck (10.4 ppg).

NEXT UP
Appalachian State will return to the High Country for two games. The Mountaineers will welcome South Alabama to the Holmes Center on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Troy on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are still available for all remaining Appalachian State men's and women's home basketball games. Appalachian State basketball single game tickets can be purchased online by clicking here, by phone at (828) 262-2079 or in person at the Appalachian State athletics ticket office, located at the Holmes Center (Monday - Friday; 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.).