TROY, Ala. – App State men's basketball fell in its series finale at Troy on Saturday evening by a 65-59 score.
Justin Forrest finished with a team high 15 points and a team high four assists.
James Lewis Jr. added 13 points and
Michael Almonacy reached double figures for the eighth consecutive game with 10 points. Almonacy also pulled down a team leading seven rebounds.
Forrest scored the first five points of the game to give App State (12-7, 6-4 SBC) an early lead, only to see Troy (8-9, 3-5 SBC) respond with the next five points to tie the score. The Mountaineers came right back with a 6-0 run to open an 11-5 lead with just under 16 minutes left in the opening half.
Troy battled back to tie the game at 11-11 and broke a 16-16 tie with a pair of free throws. With the score tied at 22-22, the Trojans scored five straight points to open a 27-22 edge with 3:39 left in the opening half. Troy held the lead for the remainder of the half and took a 32-30 lead into the break.
Adrian Delph opened the scoring in the second half with a 3-pointer to put the Mountaineers up 33-32. Troy opened a 36-34 lead, but App State answered with a trey from
RJ Duhart to jump back in front. The Trojans came right back with a three, but the Black and Gold used a 3-pointer from
Donovan Gregory to open a 40-39 edge with 13:08 to play.
Troy responded with a 7-0 run to build a 46-40 advantage with 11:27 to go. After a trey from Almonacy, Troy scored four straight points to open a 50-43 lead. Troy used another 5-0 spurt later in the half to take a 58-47 advantage with 6:17 remaining.
Trailing 61-51 with 4:20 left, App State held Troy without a point for over three minutes to pull within six points at 61-55. The Trojans used a layup with 54 seconds left, but App State responded with four consecutive points to trim the Troy lead to 63-59 with 30 seconds left.
The Black and Gold fouled on Troy's next possession and the Trojans converted both free throws. App State came up empty on its next possession and Troy grabbed the rebound to seal the victory.
Nick Stampley paced Troy with 19 points and seven rebounds. Kam Woods added 12 points and Zay Williams finished with 11 points.
App State will continue its road swing next weekend with a two-game set at Georgia State. Tip on Feb. 5 is at 6 p.m. and at 4 p.m. on Feb. 6. Both games will be broadcast 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.
