MOBILE, Ala. -- After playing its first four Sun Belt contests in Boone, App State men's basketball hits the road for its first conference series of the season at South Alabama. Friday's game tips at 7 p.m. EST and Saturday's game begins at 5 p.m. EST. Both contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.
THE SERIES
- This is the 12th meeting between the two schools, with the Jaguars leading 9-2.
- The two teams split the season series last season, with App State winning 81-71 in Mobile and South Alabama winning 78-70 in Boone.
- The Mountaineers' win in Mobile last season was the first for the program at South Alabama.
LAST TIME OUT
- Donovan Gregory had a career-high 19 points on a career-best eight made field goals to lead App State past Georgia Southern 77-71 on Saturday. Adrian Delph added 17 points and Michael Almonacy had 15 points and four rebounds off the bench. James Lewis Jr. tallied his second career App State double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds (five offensive).
- App State found themselves down 29-18 with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. The Mountaineers countered with a 11-3 run to pull within three points at 32-29 with 3:47 left in the opening frame. Georgia Southern held the lead for the remainder of the half and took a 42-37 lead into the intermission. In the second half, the Eagles opened a 50-43 lead before App State scored five straight points to pull within two. Georgia Southern pushed its lead back to six points at 54-48, only to see the Black and Gold storm back and take a 58-56 lead on a layup from Delph with 8:20 remaining. The score would be tied twice more before the Mountaineers used two free throws from Lewis Jr. and a basket from Gregory to take a 64-60 edge. App State pushed its lead to 68-62, but the Eagles responded with a 9-3 spurt to tie the score at 71-71 with 1:39 left to play. Gregory gave the Mountaineers a 73-71 lead with a layup with 52 seconds left and after an App State defensive stop, Justin Forrest knocked down a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left to push the Black and Gold lead to four points. The Eagles missed a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left and Lewis Jr. drained a pair of free throws seconds later to put the game away.
- App State has now won four straight in the series with Georgia Southern, overcoming a double digit deficit in each win.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
- App State stands at 9-4 on the season and 3-1 in conference play after Saturday's win. The 9-4 start is the best for the program through its first 13 games since a 10-3 start in 2006-07.
- The Black and Gold also are 3-1 in Sun Belt play for the second straight season and third time in the last four seasons. The last time App State started 4-1 in conference play was in 2006-07.
- App State is holding opponents to 59.4 points, which leads the conference and sits ninth nationally. This season, the Mountaineers have held six opponents under 60 points this season.
- In four conference games this season, James Lewis Jr. is averaging 13.8 points on 76.9 percent (20-of-26) shooting and 6.0 rebounds.
- Donovan Gregory is averaging 13.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and has recorded eight assists in four conference games. Adrian Delph (12.8 ppg), Michael Almonacy (12.3 ppg) and Justin Forrest (11.5 ppg) are also averaging double figures in points during conference play.
- App State received a vote in this week's edition of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll.
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
- South Alabama stands at 7-6 on the season and 1-3 in Sun Belt play after falling twice at Coastal Carolina last weekend.
- Michael Flowers leads the team and ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring, averaging 21.2 points.
- John Pettway ranks fifth in the conference in field goal percentage (60.3 percent) and is also averaging double figures in scoring at 10.2 points.
- As a team, the Jaguars are shooting 39.4 percent on 3-pointers, which leads the conference.
UP NEXT
App State will return home to host Georgia State in a two-game series on Jan. 22 and Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.
