GREENSBORO — Justin Forrest surpassed 1,000 career points while recording his first career double-double, but App State fell 59-56 against Montana State on Friday in the opening game of the Spartan Invitational.
Forrest had 27 points and a career-high 12 rebounds in becoming the 33rd player in program history to reach 1,000 points. A junior guard, he went 10-for-13 at the line and increased his three-year total to 1,024 points.
Fellow guard
Adrian Delph grabbed eight rebounds one game after setting a new career high of nine in a win against East Carolina, and post player
Hunter Seacat also scored in double figures during a 10-point, five-rebound effort for the Mountaineers (2-2).
Forrest had double-digit rebounds for the second time in his career, as he grabbed 10 boards and scored seven points against UTEP early in his freshman year.
Montana State, which nearly upset a ranked Utah State team in its season opener, improved to 2-1. Harald Frey scored 16 points to lead the Bobcats, who increased their lead to 59-54 on two free throws with four seconds left. Forrest converted a layup at the buzzer for the final margin.
Trailing 24-19 late in the first half, App State took a 25-24 lead into the break thanks to
Michael Bibby's 3-pointer with 1:09 remaining, a defensive charge taken by Bibby at the other end and his assist on Delph's corner 3 with 20 seconds left before halftime.
The Mountaineers led for most of the first eight minutes of the second half and moved ahead 42-40 with
Donovan Gregory's game-tying layup and James Lewis' tiebreaking layup off a Delph assist with 7:54 remaining. Montana State responded with a 10-0 run that ended with back-to-back 3s from the left-handed Frey.
App State continues play in the Spartan Invitational on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against Tennessee Tech in the on-campus Fleming Gymnasium. On Monday night in the Greensboro Coliseum, the Mountaineers face UNCG at 7 p.m.
