JONESBORO, Ark. --
Justin Forrest poured in a game-high 26 points and
Hunter Seacat tallied a double-double as App State men's basketball posted a 71-64 road victory at Arkansas State on Thursday evening.
The win over the Red Wolves (15-8, 7-5 SBC) secures a season sweep of Arkansas State for the Mountaineers (12-10, 6-5 SBC) for the second time since joining the Sun Belt. App State's 12 victories before February are most since the 2009-10 season, when the Black and Gold also won 12 contests.
Forrest went 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc and shot 8-of-10 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line to reach double figures for the 15th consecutive game. During that span, he has scored 20 or more points nine times.
Seacat's 13 points represent a new season-high. He went 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from the field and pulled down a season-high tying 10 rebounds. He becomes the seventh Mountaineer to record a double-double in a game this season, joining
Adrian Delph,
Isaac Johnson,
Kendall Lewis,
James Lewis Jr.,
O'Showen Williams and Forrest.
Delph finished with 12 points, scoring 10 in the second half. Williams added nine points and Johnson chipped in with four points, five rebounds and five assists.
After the Red Wolves scored the first two points of the game, App State answered with eight straight points to jump in front 8-2. Arkansas State came right back with an 8-1 run to reclaim the lead 10-9. The Black and Gold used a 9-0 run later in the half to build a 22-15 lead. Arkansas State jumped back in front 27-26, but a triple from Williams late in the frame gave the Mountaineers a 32-29 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Red Wolves jumped in front 36-35, but App State came right back with seven of the next eight points to open a 42-37 advantage. The Red Wolves took the lead back and opened up a four-point edge at 57-53 with just over eight minutes to play. From there, the Mountaineers went on a 13-0 run, capped by five straight points from Delph, to take a 66-57 edge with 5:15 to go. The Red Wolves responded with four straight points to pull within five, before Forrest answered with a deep three-pointer with 1:34 left to extend App State's lead to 69-61. Arkansas State pulled within five points again, but a free throw from Forrest and Williams down the stretch put the game away.
The Black and Gold finished with 13 assists on 24 made field goals. In all, the Mountaineers shot 50.0 percent (24-of-48) from the field and have recorded a shooting percentage of 50.0 percent or better in four games this season.
Caleb Fields paced Arkansas State with 14 points and seven assists. Malik Brevard added 10 points and seven rebounds and Jerry Johnson had 10 points off the bench.
The Mountaineers conclude their three-game road swing on Saturday at Sun Belt leading Little Rock. Tip is set for 3 p.m. EST.
