Mountaineers Eye First Sun Belt Victory at Troy

TROY, Ala. -- Appalachian State men's basketball travels to take on Troy on Saturday. Tip is scheduled for 3 p.m. EST on ESPN+.

THE SERIES

• This will be the 11th all-time meeting between the two schools, with App State holding a 7-3 advantage in the series.
• The two teams split a pair of meetings last season, with both squads winning on their home courts.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Black and Gold dropped its Sun Belt opener at South Alabama on Thursday evening at South Alabama by a 79-73 score
• Ronshad Shabazz paced the Mountaineers with a game-high tying 21 points. Isaac Johnson added 14 points and six rebounds and Justin Forrest had 10 points.
• Off the bench, O'Showen Williams drained a season-best three trey and finished with 11 points.
• App State jumped out a 25-11 lead midway through the first half, but South Alabama roared back with a 25-6 run to take a 36-31 lead at halftime. In the second half, South Alabama pushed its lead to 11 points at 49-38, only to see the Black and Gold trim its deficit to 51-47 with just over 10 minutes to play. The Jaguars responded and built their lead back up to 14 points at 72-58 with 2:33 to play. App State stormed back and cut its deficit to 77-73 on a three-pointer from Williams with 27 seconds remaining in the game. The Mountaineers got no closer and South Alabama converted on two free throws down the stretch to close out the victory.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• Appalachian State stands at 5-9 on the season and 0-1 in Sun Belt play.
• App State features the third best offense in the league, averaging 82.4 points. The Mountaineers scoring average also ranks 37th in the nation. In addition, App State has scored 70 or more in 13 of its 14 games on the season.
• The Black and Gold dished out 16 assists at South Alabama on Thursday, marking the fifth time this season they have had 15 or more assists in a game.
• Over his last four games, Isaac Johnson is averaging 13.8 points and 10.8 rebounds.
• Shabazz is averaging 19.7 points, which leads the team, ranks fifth in the conference and 53rd in the nation. In Thursday's game, he moved into third place on the all-time scoring list, passing Dave Abernathy (1,744) on the all-time list.

SCOTING THE TROJANS

• Troy dropped its Sun Belt opener at home on Thursday evening to Coastal Carolina by an 88-75 score to drop to 7-6 on the season and 0-1 in the Sun Belt.
• Charles Norman paced the Trojans with 16 points in a reserve role. B.J. Miller added 12 points and Devante Foster chipped in with 11 points. Alex Hicks posted a near double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
• On the season, Jordon Varnado leads the team in scoring at 17.3 points and sits second in rebounding, averaging 7.3.
• Hicks (12.2) and Miller (11.3) are also averaging double figures for Troy...Hicks is also pulling down a team-high 8.0 rpg.

NEXT UP
The Mountaineers will return to the High Country for two straight games. App State welcomes UT Arlington to the Holmes Center on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. contest with Texas State at 2 p.m. on Jan. 12. Single game tickets are on sale and can be purchased by clicking here or by contacting the Appalachian State ticket office at 828-262-2079.