LAFAYETTE, La. -- Appalachian State men's basketball will play its final road game of the regular season on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. EST at Louisiana. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.
THE SERIES
- Louisiana holds an 8-1 edge in the all-time series.
- App State posted its first victory all time over the Ragin' Cajuns on Jan. 31 in Boone by a 104-77 score.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Mountaineers dropped a 81-75 contest at ULM on Thursday evening.
- Ronshad Shabazz had a career-high 47 points on a career-best 17 made field goals, while tying a school record with 10 three-pointers. He became the second player in program history to reach 2,000 career points during the game. In addition, he reached 500 points for the season, becoming the first Mountaineer to score 500 points in three different seasons in program history. His 47-point effort was the fourth most points scored in a game in program history and ranks as the eighth highest scoring output in Division I this season.
- Isaac Johnson posted his eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Justin Forrest had seven points, five rebounds and a career-high tying six assists.
- The Warhawks used an early 7-0 spurt to jump out to a 12-2 lead. ULM pushed its edge to 28-12 later in the half, but the Black and Gold countered with nine straight points to cut its deficit to 28-21. From there, Shabazz scored the final 12 points for the Mountaineers (9-19, 4-11 SBC) to cut the Warhawk lead to 37-33 at the break. An old-fashioned three-point play from Adrian Delph early in the second half pulled the Mountaineers to within two points at 38-36. ULM pushed its lead back to eight points, but a trey from Shabazz with 9:46 remaining pulled App State within two points at 56-54. Later in the half, an old-fashioned three-point play from Johnson gave the Black and Gold its first lead of the night at 62-61 with 6:40 remaining. The Warhawks responded with a three-pointer on their next possession to jump back in front 64-62. ULM pushed its lead out to 68-63 on a pair of free throws from Daishon Smith, but the Mountaineers cut the deficit back to two points at 70-68 on a trey from Shabazz. From there, the Warhawks scored six consecutive points to open a 76-68 lead with under a minute to play and put the game away.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
- App State stands at 9-19 and 4-11 in Sun Belt play. The Black and Gold sit one game behind Little Rock for the final spot in the Sun Belt Tournament.
- The Mountaineers have scored 70 or more points in 23 games this season and rank third in the Sun Belt in team scoring average at 80.1 ppg.
- Over his last four games, Isaac Johnson is averaging 11.8 points and 10.5 rebounds.
- Ronshad Shabazz is just six made field goals shy of setting the school record for career field goals made.
SCOUTING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
- Louisiana posted an 83-70 home victory over Coastal Carolina on Thursday to improve to 17-11 and 8-7 in Sun Belt play.
- JaKeenan Gant paced the Ragin' Cajuns with 29 points and five rebounds. Cedric Russell added 14 points and Marcus Stroman had 13 points, eight assists and five steals.
- JaKeenan Gant ranks second in the Sun Belt in rebounding (8.5 rpg) and field goal percentage (.542) and third in scoring (20.7 ppg).
- Marcus Stroman has dished out a league best 179 assists and also is averaging a Sun Belt best 6.4 assists per game.
UP NEXT
App State will return to the High Country for its final two home games of the regular season...The Mountaineers will host Troy on Thursday at 7 p.m. and South Alabama at 2 p.m. on Saturday .Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.
