App State Looks to Bounce Back on Saturday at Georgia Southern

STATESBORO, Ga. -- App State men's basketball will conclude its road trip on Georgia on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Georgia Southern on ESPN+ and the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.

THE SERIES

• This will be the 52nd all-time meeting between the two schools, with the Mountaineers leading 27-24
• App State won the meeting earlier this season in Boone on Jan. 4 by a 74-72 score

EARLIER THIS SEASON

• Justin Forrest hit a three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left to lead App State to a 74-72 win over Georgia Southern in Boone of Jan. 4.
• Forrest finished with a game-high 25 points, while adding five rebounds and four assists. O'Showen Williams tallied 20 points, three rebounds and three assists. Kendall Lewis reached double figures with 11 points, while adding six rebounds. Hunter Seacat had eight points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Isaac Johnson chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds.
• In the first half, the Black and Gold scored six consecutive points to open a 17-9 lead. Georgia Southern stormed back to tie the game at 24-24 and closed the half on a 15-5 run to take a 39-29 advantage into the intermission. App State scored the first four out of the locker room and cut its deficit to a point at 42-41 on a pair of free throws from Kendall Lewis. Forrest knotted the score at 47-47 with a triple, but Georgia Southern countered with the next four points to take a 51-47 edge with 13:40 remaining. The Mountaineers answered right back with seven straight to open a 54-51 lead, only to see the Eagles jump back in front 58-54 with seven consecutive points. Georgia Southern opened a seven-point lead at 71-64 with 3:15 to play. From there, the Black and Gold closed the game on a 10-1 run, capped by the clutch trey from Forrest for the win.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• App State dropped a 76-65 road decision at Georgia State on Thursday evening to fall to 14-12 on the season and 8-7 in Sun Belt pla
• Kendall Lewis poured in a career-high 24 points on a career-best 10-of-11 (90.9 percent) clip from the free throw line, while pulling down seven rebounds. O'Showen Williams added 17 points and Justin Forrest chipped in with 11 points and six assists
• The Mountaineers tallied 12 steals in Thursday's contest, which is its third most in a game this season and marked the seventh time this season the Black and Gold have recorded double digit steals in a game
• Isaac Johnson is just nine points from becoming the 34th player in program history to score 1,000 career points
• Over his last four games, Williams is averaging 19.8 points on 26-of-49 (53.1 percent) shooting and 4.3 rebounds

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

• Georgia Southern recorded its fourth win in its last five games with a 79-69 victory over Coastal Carolina on Thursday. The Eagles stand at 16-10 on the season and 10-5 in Sun Belt play, which places them in a tie for second place
• Isaiah Crawley finished with a team-high 20 points for the Eagles, while Quan Jackson (18), Ike Smith (13) and Elijah McCadden (10) also reached double figures in scoring
• Smith leads the team in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg)
• The Eagles rank third in the Sun Belt in scoring offense, averaging 76.3 points
• Jackson in the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week after averaging 23.5 points and 4.5 steals in a pair of Eagle wins last week

UP NEXT
App State returns to the High Country for a three-game home stand, beginning on Thursday against South Alabama at 7 p.m. Season tickets and single game tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale and can be purchased by calling the App State ticket office at 828-262-2079.