BOONE, N.C. -- Appalachian State men's basketball begins its final home stand of the regular season on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. versus Troy. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG 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.
THE SERIES
- This will be the 12th meeting between the two schools, with the Mountaineers leading 7-4.
- Troy won the first matchup this season in Troy on Jan. 5 by an 89-85 score.
- App State is 3-0 all-time versus the Trojans at home since joining the Sun Belt.
PREVIOUS MEETING
- Earlier this season, Troy opened up a 22-point first half lead and hung on for an 89-85 win on Jan. 5.
- The Trojans came out of the gate on fire and opened a 35-15 with 10:31 remaining in the opening half. But the Mountaineers stormed back, outscoring Troy 23-3, including the final 14 points of the half, over the final six minutes of the opening frame to cut the halftime deficit to 46-45. In the second half, the Trojans pushed their lead to nine points at 66-57 with 8:32 left to play, but the Black and Gold trimmed the deficit to three points at 83-80 with 17 seconds left. App State fouled and the Trojans' B.J. Miller hit a pair of free throws to make the score 85-80. The Black and Gold answered with a old fashion three-point play from Justin Forrest to cut the deficit to 85-83 with five seconds left. App State fouled on the ensuing inbounds and Troy drained a pair of free throws to push its lead to 87-83. Following a Forrest layup, the Mountaineers fouled again and Jordon Varnado drained a pair of free throws in the finals seconds to put the game away.
- Ronshad Shabazz tallied a team-high 25 points and pulled down a season-high six rebounds. Justin Forrest added 18 points, a career-high six assists and three rebounds. Adrian Delph tied his career-high with 18 points, including a 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) clip from deep, a career-best seven rebounds and a career-high two blocks. Hunter Seacat chipped in with 11 points and five boards for the Mountaineers.
LAST TIME OUT
- App State posted a 90-80 victory at Louisiana on Sunday.
- Ronshad Shabazz tallied a team-high 20 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 mark from the free throw line, and five rebounds. Hunter Seacat added a career-high 16 points and eight rebounds.
- Justin Forrest added 13 points and Tyrell Johnson finished with 15 points and three rebounds in a reserve role. Isaac Johnson added 10 points and eight rebounds and Adrian Delphfinished with nine points and four rebounds.
- The Mountaineers used 15-4 run to open 23-13 lead, capped off by a trey from Shabazz, with 10:47 left in the opening half. The Black and Gold pushed its lead to as large as 12 points at 30-18, but a late surge by the Ragin' Cajuns trimmed the Mountaineer lead to 41-37 at the break. Early in the second half, App State used a quick 5-0 spurt to build a 54-45 lead with 14:53 remaining. The Mountaineers expanded their lead to 16 points at 68-52 thanks to an 10-0 run with 8:18 left to play. Louisiana chipped away at the App State lead and a trey from P.J. Hardy cut the Mountaineer advantage to 83-78. Isaac Johnson drained four free throws in the final minute to give App State its first season sweep of Louisiana in program history.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
- Appalachian State enters play onf Thursday at 10-19 on the season and 5-11 in Sun Belt play. The Black and Gold currently sit 10th in the conference and hold the final spot of the Sun Belt Tournament, which begins next week.
- Ronshad Shabazz was named Sun Belt Player of thw Week, after averaging 33.5 points on 21-of-42 (50.0 percent) shooting, a 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) clip from deep and a perfect 11-of-11 mark from the free throw line. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds. He is just two made field goals shy of becoming the program's all-time leader in field goals made with 701.
- Isaac Johnson is averaging 9.2 rebounds in 16 Sun Belt games this season and leads the league in rebound average at 8.9 rpg. Over his last five games, he is averaging a double-double at 11.4 points and 10.0 rebounds.
- The Black and Gold are 8-4 this season at the Holmes Center and are averaging 88.2 points on 49.4 percent shooting.
SCOUTING THE TROJANS
- Troy fell at home to UT Arlington 79-66 on Saturday to fall to 11-17 this season and 4-12 in Sun Belt play.
- Charles Norman tallied a team-high 15 points off the bench. Darian Adams added 13 points, B.J. Miller had 11 points and Alex Hicks finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
- Hicks leads the team in scoring at 12.4 points, with Javan Johnson also averaging double figures at 10.3 points.
- Hicks is averaging 8.1 rebounds, which sits fourth in the Sun Belt.
UP NEXT
Appalachian State will play its final game of the regular season on Saturday at 2 p.m. against South Alabama. The Mountaineers will recognize their seniors before tip. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.
