Late Block By Forrest Secures App State Victory

BOONE, N.C. -- Justin Forrest blocked a game winning 3-point attempt in the final seconds to give App State men's basketball a thrilling 61-60 victory over Coastal Carolina on Thursday evening.

With the score deadlocked at 59-59, Donovan Gregory converted on a floater in the paint to give App State (9-9, 3-2 SBC) a 61-59 lead with 30 seconds left. Coastal Carolina (9-7, 1-3 SBC) drew a foul on its next possession and Vince Cole converted on his first free throw but missed the second, with Gregory securing the rebound. Forrest was fouled seconds later, but missed the front end of a one-and-one, with the Chanticleers grabbing the rebound.

With 5.3 seconds remaining and App State leading by one, Cole passed to Josh Uduje on the left wing. Uduje rose up for the 3-pointer and Forrest blocked the shot attempt as time expired to give the Mountaineers the win.

After Coastal Carolina opened the game with a basket, the Mountaineers answered with eight straight points to take an 8-2 lead. The Chanticleers came right back with a 9-1 run to take a 11-9 lead, only to see App State respond with seven consecutive points to open a 16-11 advantage.
 
Coastal Carolina used a 7-0 run later in the half to jump in front 21-19, but the Mountaineers countered later in the half with a 9-0 spurt to open a 31-23 edge. The Black and Gold scored the final five points of the half and took a 39-32 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Chanticleers pulled within a point at 43-42 and took a 49-48 advantage with 9:51 remaining, App State scored the next five points to take a 53-49 lead. Coastal Carolina tied the score three more times down the stretch, before the clutch plays from Gregory and Forrest clinched the Mountaineer victory.

Adrian Delph led the Mountaineers with 16 points, while adding seven rebounds and a team-high tying three assists. Gregory had 10 points and eight rebounds, while Michael Almonacy tallied 10 points, four rebounds and a team-high tying three assists. CJ Huntley pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds, six of which were offensive.

The Mountaineers held a 43-34 edge in the rebounding battle, including 19-10 on the offensive glass. The Mountaineers also outscored the Chanticleers 10-2 in second chance points and 18-4 in bench scoring.

Cole led Coastal Carolina with 25 points, while Essam Mostafa finished with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday in Conway, with tip set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.