MOBILE, Ala. –
Adrian Delph scored a career high 28 points as App State men's basketball erased a nine-point second half deficit in an 83-77 victory at South Alabama on Saturday.
Delph finished 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) from the field, 5-of-10 (50.0 percent) on 3-pointers and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds and a career high four steals in the victory.
After South Alabama (8-7, 2-4 SBC) took a 38-34 lead into the intermission, the Mountaineers (10-5, 4-2 SBC) scored the first five points of the second half to jump in front 39-38. The Jaguars came right back with a 10-0 run to open a 48-39 edge with just under 14 minutes to play.
Trailing 61-52, the Black and Gold stormed back with a 12-0 run to open a 64-61 advantage with 5:36 to play. The Jaguars came right back with a three, but the Mountaineers used a basket from
James Lewis Jr. and a 3-pointer from
Michael Almonacy to take a 69-64 advantage with 3:36 remaining.
South Alabama answered with a three, but Almonacy drained another 3-pointer to push the Black and Gold lead to 72-67 with just under three minutes to go. The Jaguars got a basket from Michael Flowers, but Lewis Jr. converted a pair of free throws to extend the Mountaineers lead back to five.
The Jaguars pulled within two at 74-72 with 1:59 left, but the Mountaineers used a free throw from
Justin Forrest and a pair of free throws from Delph to open a 77-72 edge with 30 seconds left.
App State dug in and got a defensive stop on the Jaguars next possession, with Delph pulling down the rebound and getting fouled. He drained two free throws to give App State a 79-72 lead with 30 seconds left. The Jaguars pulled within four points twice in the closing moments of the game, but Forrest drained four free throws down the stretch to put the game away.
App State drained four 3-pointers in the first five minutes of play to take a 12-9 lead. A trey from Almonacy broke a 17-17 tie, but the Jaguars answered with five consecutive points to take a 22-20 lead. The Black and Gold came right back to take the lead thanks to an old-fashioned 3-point play from
RJ Duhart with 7:19 left in the opening half. App State held a 31-29 lead with under four minutes remaining in the opening stanza, before the Jaguars closed the half on a 9-3 run to take the lead into the intermission.
Forrest finished with 17 points, four rebounds and a season high tying six assists. Off the bench, Almonacy had 14 points, knocking down four 3-pointers, to go along with five assists.
Michael Eads drained a trio of threes to finish with a career best 11 points.
In all, App State drained a season high 16 3-pointers, bettering its previous best of 15, set against Troy on Jan. 2. The Black and Gold assisted on 17 of its 23 made field goals.
The Mountaineers also shot 95.5 percent (21-of-22) from the free throw line, marking a new season best free throw percentage.
The Black and Gold return to the High Country next weekend for a pair of contests against Georgia State. The two teams will square off on Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. and Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.
App State men's basketball would like to thank the Law Offices of Timothy Welborn as its 2020-21 season sponsor.
