App State Hosts Georgia Southern in Weekend Series

BOONE, N.C. -- App State men's basketball welcomes Georgia Southern ot the Holmes Center on Friday and Saturday. Friday's contest is set to start at 6 p.m., with Saturday's to tip at 4 p.m. Both contests will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.

SPECTATOR INFO
With the implementation of Governor Roy Cooper's Executive Order 176, Phase 3 of North Carolina's eased coronavirus restrictions allows for indoor venues to have limited viewing. Tickets will be reserved for student-athlete families and select season ticket holders.

FAN CUTOUTS
Fan cutouts are available to purchase for inside the Holmes Center. Cutouts can be purchased by clicking here.

THE SERIES

• This is the 53rd meeting in the series, with App State leading 28-24.
• The Mountaineers swept the season series last year, winning 74-72 in Boone and 62-57 in Statesboro. The season sweep was the first for the Mountaineers over the Eagle since the 2012-13 season.

LAST TIME OUT

• App State scored 12 of the first 14 and 17 of the first 21 points in a 90-59 wire-to-wire win over Troy on Saturday. The win was the largest ever for the Mountaineers in Sun Belt play and the largest conference win for the program since a 95-54 win over The Citadel on Jan. 27, 2007.
• After leading 12-2, Troy pulled within five points at 21-16 with 10:54 left in the opening half. From there, App State (7-4, 1-1 SBC) went on a 15-2 run to push its lead to 38-17, getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Justin Forrest to cap the run. Forrest drained a trio of free throws in the closing moments of the first half to give the Mountaineers a 50-26 edge at the break. In the second half, the Trojans pulled within 16 points at 54-38. But the Black and Gold came right back with a 13-2 run to push its lead to 67-40 with 12:34 left to play. The Mountaineers opened as large of a lead as 33 points in the second half en route to its 31-point victory.
• Forrest paced the Mountaineer offense with a season-high 21 points. He finished 6-of-10 (60.0 percent) from the field and went a scorching 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) from deep, while adding four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Michael Almonacy tallied his first career App State double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. Almonacy becomes the first Mountaineer to reach double figures in assists since Mike Neal dished out 10 assists on March 2, 2013. Donovan Gregory had another solid game, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) shooting and five rebounds. Adrian Delph drained four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points and five rebounds and James Lewis Jr. went 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) from the field to finish with 13 points.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

• App State stands at 7-4 on the season and 1-1 in conference player after Saturday's win.
• In his last two games, James Lewis Jr. is averaging 14.5 points on 92.3 percent (12-of-13) percent shooting.
• Adrian Delph has reached double figures in scoring eight times this season and leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.1 points.
• App State ranks in top-10 nationally in personal fouls per game (13.4; fourth) and opponent scoring (58.0; eighth).
• Saturday's win marked the sixth opponent the Mountaineers held under 60 points this season. App State is a perfect 6-0 this season when holding opponents under 60 points and 14-2 under head coach Dustin Kerns.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

• Georgia Southern enters play with a 7-4 record and 1-1 mark in Sun Belt play after topping South Alabama 62-49 on Saturday.
• Zack Bryant had 12 points and Elijah McCadden had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
• Bryant is averaging a team best 15.1 points and is also tied for the team lead with eight blocks.
• Eric Boone is second on the Eagles in scoring (12.0 ppg) and has a team-high 33 assists.
• McCadden is averaging 11.3 points and a team-best 4.7 rebounds.

UP NEXT
App State will hit the road for its first two Sun Belt contests at South Alabama on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. EST and 5 p.m. EST, respectively. Both games can be seen on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Appalachian Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.