Men's Basketball Heads to Texas State for Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals

SAN MARCOS, Tex. -- Sixth seed App State men's basketball will travel to take on third seed Texas State in the Sun Belt Tournament Quarterfinals at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday evening on ESPN+ and the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.

APP STATE IN THE SUN BELT TOURNAMENT

• App State will make its fourth consecutive appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament
• The Mountaineers own a 2-3 mark all-time in the tournament after defeating Coastal Carolina 70-65 on Monday evening

THE SERIES

• Texas State holds a slim 7-6 edge in the series
• The two teams split the season series this year, with the Bobcats winning in San Marcos 82-57 on Jan. 11 and the Mountaineers winning in Boone 60-57 on Feb. 8
• The Black and Gold and Texas State have never met in the Sun Belt Tournament

EARLIER THIS SEASON

• In San Marcos on Jan. 11, Texas State jumped out to an 11-4 lead and never trailed in a 82-57 win. Justin Forrest finished with 23 points, while Hunter Seacat added nine points. Kendall Lewis tallied seven points, five rebounds and two blocks and James Lewis Jr. recorded seven rebounds
• On Feb. 8 in Boone, Justin Forrest drained a three-pointer in the closing seconds to help App State overcome an 18-point deficit in a 60-57 win. O'Showen Williams had 19 points and Forrest finished with 14 points and a career-high seven assists. Hunter Seacat had 10 points and nine rebounds and Isaac Johnson tallied eight points and six rebounds

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• App State improved to 18-14 on the season and erased a 15-point deficit in a 70-65 win over No. 10 seed Coastal Carolina on Monday evening
• Isaac Johnson posted his eighth double-double of the season with a career-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. Justin Forrest and O'Showen Williams each had 13 points and Hunter Seacat chipped in with 12 points
• Johnson's eight double-doubles on the season are tied for second in the conference
• Johnson sits second in the league in rebounding average at 7.8 rpg
• As a team, App State is holding its opponents to 66.8 points, which ranks second in the conference

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS

• Texas State earned the No. 3 seed with a 20-11 overall record and 13-7 mark in Sun Belt play
• Nijal Pearson was named Sun Belt Player of the Year and First Team All-Sun Belt after averaging a league leading 19.3 points
• Marlin Davis leads the Sun Belt in assist/turnover ratio at 2.7
• As a team, Texas State leads the league in scoring defense at 64.2 points and in scoring margin at +8.5
• Isiah Small is averaging a team-best 6.5 rebounds and ranks second on the Bobcats with 27 blocks

UP NEXT
The winner of Wednesday's contest advances to the Sun Belt Tournament Semifinals on Saturday at 3 p.m. EST in New Orleans against No. 2 seed South Alabama.