ATLANTA, Ga. -- App State men's basketball will begin a key two-game conference road swing on Thursday evening at Georgia State. Tip is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College. The Mountaineers enter the contest with an 8-6 mark in Sun Belt play and sit just a game behind the Panthers in the standings.
THE SERIES
- This will be the 12th meeting between the two teams, with Georgia State leading 6-5
- The Panthers have won three straight in the series, including a 69-60 win in Boone on Jan. 2
EARLIER THIS SEASON
- The two teams squared off in Boone earlier this season, with the Panthers prevailing 69-60
- Adrian Delph tallied his first career-double-double with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. O'Showen Williams added 12 points, two assists and two steals, while Forrest reached double figures in scoring for the seventh consecutive game with 10 points. Hunter Seacat chipped in with seven points and a career-high tying 10 rebounds (five offensive)
- After Delph made a free throw to knot the score at 3-3, the Panthers went on a 8-1 run to open a 11-4 edge. Georgia State pushed its lead to 13 points at 19-6, before App State responded with back-to-back threes from Delph and Williams to pull within seven at 19-12. The Panthers closed the opening half on a 9-0 run and took a 40-23 lead into the break. In the second stanza, the Black and Gold used an 8-0 spurt to pull within 57-46 with just over 10 minutes remaining. The Panthers pushed their lead back to as large as 14, but App State scored six straight points to pull within 64-57 with 1:35 to play. From there, Georgia State made five free throws down the stretch to hold off the Mountaineer charge.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
- App State has won four out of its last five games and sits at 14-11 and 8-6 in Sun Belt play. The Mountaineers sit in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings, trailing Little Rock (12-2), Georgia State (9-5) and Georgia Southern (9-5)
- In a 60-57 win over Texas State on Saturday, O'Showen Williams had 19 points and five rebounds, Justin Forrest added 14 points and a career-high seven assists and Hunter Seacat chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds
- Isaac Johnson is just 13 points away from becoming the 34th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points
- Williams has reached double figures in scoring and has pulled down at least four rebounds in six of his last seven games and is averaging 16.1 points and 6.1 rebounds during that span
- In his last four games, Seacat is averaging 11.0 points on 72.0 percent (18-of-25) shooting and 6.0 rebounds
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
- Georgia State posted a 77-69 road win at ULM on Saturday to improve to 16-9 on the season and 9-5 in conference play
- Kane Williams tallied 19 points, six rebounds and three assists, Corey Allen added 15 points and three steals and Damon Wilson finished with 14 points
- Four Panthers are averaging double figures in scoring in Allen (15.0 ppg), Williams (13.7 ppg), Justin Roberts (13.4 ppg) and Wilson (10.8 ppg)
- As a team, Georgia State leads the Sun Belt in scoring offense (78.9 ppg), three-point percentage (.370), field goal percentage defense (.397) and three-point percentage defense (.289)
UP NEXT
App State will continue its road trip on Georgia on Saturday against Georgia Southern at 4 p.m.
