Mountaineers Continue Home Stand on Thursday Versus Georgia State

BOONE, N.C. -- Appalachian State men's basketball continues its three-game home stand against on Thursday at 7 p.m. versus Georgia State in the Holmes Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Appalachian Sports Network from IMG Learfield College.

TICKETS
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.

HOOPS FOR HOPE
The Mountaineers will be hosting their Hoops for Hope Game. Shoes and funds will be collected at this Hoops for Hope game, which will raise awareness to benefit all the programs that A2S offers. Last season, App State collected over 50 pairs of shoes to benefit the mission of A2S. A2S's mission is to provide sustainable programs that generate positive change for Nigerian children and their communities through education, faith and sports. A2S is a nonprofit that was started by Andrew Lovedale, a former Davidson College basketball player and Nigeria native. Lovedale played under current Appalachian State Head Coach Jim Fox during Fox's tenure as an assistant coach at Davidson.  Every summer, A2S hosts basketball camps for over 500 youth in Benin City, Nigeria. A2S delivers athletic shoes for each child that participates. Fans are encouraged to donate new or almost new shoes, along with a $5 donation to cover shipping. Fans also have the option to donate $25, which covers the cost of sending one Nigerian child to camp.

STUDENT PROMOTIONS
App State students will have plenty of promotions for Thursday's contest:

• Students will receive free t-shirts courtesy of Appalachian State residence life
• Free pizza will be provided behind the student section
• Three lucky students will have the chance to win free pizza for a year by taking a halfcourt shot

THE SERIES

• This will be the 10th all-time meeting between the two schools with App State leading 5-4
• The Panthers won the lone meeting last season in Boone 71-58.
• Since joining the Sun Belt, App State is 3-4 against Georgia State, including a 3-1 mark in the Holmes Center.

LAST TIME OUT

• Five players reached double figures as the Black and Gold topped Coastal Carolina 88-79 on Saturday.
• Ronshad Shabazz paced the balanced Mountaineer attack with a team-high 20 points on 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) shooting and a 3-of-6 (50.0 percent) mark from beyond the arc. Justin Forrest added 18 points, including a season-high tying nine made free throws, and eight rebounds. Isaac Johnson chipped in with 14 points and a game-high tying eight rebounds and Adrian Delph had 11 points and five rebounds. Tyrell Johnson also reached double figures with 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks in a reserve role. Hunter Seacat chipped in with eight points, four rebounds and three blocks.
• The Mountaineers (9-16, 4-8 SBC) went 29-of-54 from the field, including a 17-of-30 (56.7 percent) clip in the second half. It marked the seventh time this season the Black and Gold have shot 50.0 percent or better from the field. In addition, App State limited Coastal Carolina (12-12, 6-6 SBC) to just 38.2 percent (26-of-68) shooting and 22.7 percent (5-of-22) shooting from beyond the arc. The Chanticleers 38.2 percent shooting mark is the second lowest by a Mountaineer opponent this season.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• App State stands at 9-16 on the season and 4-8 in Sun Belt play. The Mountaineers have posted an 8-2 record at the Holmes Center this season.
• The Mountaineers shot 53.7 percent from the field in Saturday's win, marking the seventh time this season App State has shot over 50.0 percent from the field.
• Ronshad Shabazz has tallied 20 or more points in four of his last seven games and is averaging 17.8 points during that span.
• Adrian Delph has reached double figures in three of his last four contests.
• Ronshad Shabazz has 1,937 points in his career, which is second in program history and tied for 11th in Sun Belt history. He needs to score just 21 points to move into the top-10 in scoring in Sun Belt history.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

• Georgia State improved to 18-8 and 9-4 in Sun Belt play with a 90-81 win over South Alabama on Friday.
• Jeff Thomas chipped in with 21 points in a reserve role, while Devin Mitchell scored 14 points, Kane Williams had 11 points and D'Marcus Simonds tallied 10 points.
• The Panthers are ranked No. 24 in this week's edition of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
• D'Marcus Simonds is averaging 19.0 points, which sits sixth in the Sun Belt.
• As a team, the Panthers rank first in the league in blocks (4.9 bpg) and second in three-point percentage (39.2) and steals per game (7.7 spg).

UP NEXT
Appalachian State will welcome Georgia Southern to the Holmes Center on Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest.