GREENVILLE, S.C. – Four players reached double figures, but App State men's basketball dropped a 73-65 contest at Furman on Friday evening.
Adrian Delph posted his first double-double of the season and second of his career with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Justin Forrest tied his season-high with 17 points, while adding four rebounds and three steals.
James Lewis Jr. added 12 points and eight rebounds (seven offensive) off the bench and
Michael Almonacy finished with 10 points.
A 3-pointer from Almonacy pulled the Mountaineers (5-5) to within a point at 12-11. Furman (7-3) answered with an 8-2 spurt to take a 20-13 edge with 11:18 left in the opening frame. Following a basket from Lewis Jr., the Paladins went on an 8-0 run to push their lead to 28-15 with just over eight minutes left in the opening half.
App State came right back with a 6-0 run and pulled within a point at 35-34 on a basket by Delph. Furman closed the half with five of the final seven points to take a 40-36 lead into the intermission.
The Paladins used a 7-0 spurt early in the second half to extend its lead to 49-40. The Mountaineers responded with 11 of the next 13 points to tie the score at 51-51 with 9:14 remaining. Furman answered right back with five straight points, but the Black and Gold pulled within a point at 61-60 on a Forrest layup with 4:22 to play.
From there, the Paladins pieced together an 8-0 run to open a 69-60 advantage with 1:23 left. App State pulled within six points down the stretch, but could get no closer.
The Mountaineers won the rebounding battle 36-34, including a 13-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
Mike Bothwell paced Furman with 16 points and four rebounds, while Jalen Slawson also tallied 16 points.
App State returns to action on Monday evening, hosting Erskine in its non-conference home finale. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Season and single game tickets for the 2021-22 season are on sale and can be purchased by
clicking here.
