BOONE, N.C. -- Four players reach double figures, but Appalachian State men's basketball came up on the short end of a 82-72 home contest against UT Arlington on Thursday evening.
Isaac Johnson finished with 16 points, including a 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) mark from the free throw line, to go along with seven rebounds. Johnson's nine made free throws ties his career-high, which was set last season against UT Arlington.
Ronshad Shabazz also had 16 points for the Mountaineers (5-11, 0-3 SBC), while adding three rebounds and two steals. He also moved into second place on the all-time scoring list, passing Don King (1,794) with a jumper at the 5:19 mark of the second half.
Off the bench,
O'Showen Williams tallied 13 a season-high points on 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) shooting, to go along with a team-high tying three assists and a game-high tying two steals.
Tyrell Johnson added 12 points, a season-high eight rebounds and a season-high three blocks.
The first half was tight throughout and featured eight ties and nine lead changes. With the score tied at 24-24, App State scored the next four points to take a 28-24 edge. The two teams traded buckets on each of their next two possessions and the Mountaineers took a 32-28 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, the Mavericks (5-11, 1-2 SBC) scored the first 11 points to jump in front 37-32. UTA pushed its lead to 52-42 with 9:50 remaining and opened as large of a lead of 14 points at 69-55 with 3:43 to play. The Black and Gold trimmed the deficit to seven points in the final two minutes, but could get no closer.
The Mountaineer bench outscored the Maverick bench 33-19 in the contest. The 33 bench points marks the fourth time the App State bench has scored 30 or more points in a game this season.
Appalachian State will have a quick turnaround and will host Texas State on Saturday. Tip is set for 2 p.m. on AppVision. Single game tickets are on sale and can be purchased byÂ
clicking here or by contacting the Appalachian State ticket office at 828-262-2079.
