App State Eyes Fourth Win in Five Games on Saturday Versus Texas State

BOONE, N.C. -- App State men's basketball will look for its fourth win in its last five games on Satirday at 4 p.m. against Texas State. The Mountaineers sit a game behind the Bobcats in the Sun Belt standings. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.

TICKETS
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.

FOOTBALL CELEBRATION
App State will celebrate the 2019 Sun Belt and New Orleans Bowl champion football team. From 3:15 to 4 p.m., the football team will be signing autographs throughout the concourse. The team will also be recognized for their season at halftime.

ALCOHOL
Plans for alcohol sales at select men's and women's 2019-20 home games include:

• Craft beer, domestic beer and wine will be sold on the concourse near Section 12.
• Service begins when doors open one hour prior to tipoff and ends at the conclusion of the third quarter for women's games and at the under 12:00 media timeout of the second half for men's games.
• All patrons will be required to produce valid identification, which will be checked at the point of sale during each transaction.
• Per state law, patrons 21 years of age or older will be permitted to purchase a maximum of one alcoholic beverage per transaction with valid identification.
• Patrons will not be permitted to leave the Holmes Convocation Center with alcohol purchased within the venue.
• Law enforcement and contracted security staff will monitor the concourse and seating areas for underage drinking, beverage pass-offs and problematic patrons or situations.
• Public service announcements about drinking responsibly will be shown on the video board and announced via the arena's public address system.
• Alcohol will be served at all men's basketball home games for the remainder of the season.

THE SERIES

• This will be the 13th meeting between the two schools, with Texas State leading 7-5
• The Bobcats won the first meeting this season in San Marcos by a 82-57 score

EARLIER THIS SEASON

• The two teams squared off at Texas State on Jan. 11, with the Bobcats prevailing 82-57.
• Justin Forrest paced the Mountaineers (9-9, 3-4 SBC) with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-16 (50.0 percent) shooting. Hunter Seacat added nine points and Kendall Lewis finished with seven points, five rebounds and two blocks. James Lewis Jr. pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for App State.
• Texas State broke an early 2-2 tie with five straight points. The Bobcats opened a 17-11 lead and took control of the opening half with a 21-6 spurt to take a 38-17 advantage. Texas State took a 41-20 lead into the intermission. The Bobcats scored the first eight points of the second half to open a 29-point lead. The Black and Gold used a 6-0 run to pull within 24 points, but could get no closer the rest of the way.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• App State defeated UT Arlington 57-50 on Thursday evening to improve to 13-11 on the season and 7-6 in Sun Belt play
• O'Showen Williams had a career-high 25 points, to go along with six rebounds. Hunter Seacat tied his season-high with 13 points and Isaac Johnson tallied seven points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals
• Williams has reached double figures in scoring in five of his last six games and is averaging 15.7 points during that span. In his last two games, Williams is shooting a combined 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) on three-pointers
• Over his last three games, Seacat is averaging 11.3 points on 15-of-21 (71.4 percent) sooting and 5.0 rebounds
• Justin Forrest sits second in the Sun Belt in scoring, averaging 18.6 points

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS

• Texas State improved to 15-9 on the season and 8-5 in Sun Belt play with a 100-63 win at Coastal Carolina on Thursday. The Bobcats have now won seven of their last eight contests
• Five players reached double figures in the win for the Bobcats on Thursday in Nijal Pearson (20), Alonzo Sule (15), Eric Terry (14), Quentin Scott (13) and Caleb Asberry (10)
• Pearson leads the conference in scoring, averaging 19.5 points
• As a team, Texas State is limiting opponents to 63.6 points, which leads the conference. In addition, the Bobcats own the league's highest scoring margin at +9.6

UP NEXT
App State returns to the road next week for a pair of games in Georgia. The Mountaineers battle Georgia State on Thursday at 7 p.m. and take on Georgia Southern on Feb. 15 at 4 p.m.