ATLANTA, Ga. –
Justin Forrest hit a turnaround jumper with 1.4 seconds left to lead App State men's basketball past Georgia State by a 61-60 score on Thursday evening.
App State (11-9, 5-2 SBC) held an eight-point lead at the half and pushed its lead to 48-34, thanks to an 8-0 run, with 10:56 to play. Georgia State (6-8, 0-3 SBC) came right back with a 7-0 run, but the Mountaineers countered with five consecutive points, capped off by an old-fashioned 3-point play from Forrest, to open a 53-41 advantage with 7:54 remaining.
Leading 55-43, the Panthers scored 12 straight points to tie the score with 3:38 to play. The Mountaineers took the lead back at 55-53 with 2:35 left on a pair of free throws from
Adrian Delph. Georgia State regained the lead at 58-57 with 1:00 left on a 3-pointer from Justin Roberts.
On App State's next possession, the Panthers forced the Mountaineers into a turnover. On the ensuing inbound, App State forced Georgia State into a turnover to regain possession. Forrest was fouled and drained a pair of free throws to put the Mountaineers back in front 59-58 with 27 seconds left. The Panthers responded immediately with a basket from Roberts to retake the lead, before Forrest's jumper from the left elbow gave App State its first win in Atlanta as a member of the Sun Belt.
Georgia State opened a 13-7 lead in the early going. From there, the Mountaineers stormed back with a 19-2 run over the next 5:31, scoring 16 consecutive points during the stretch, to open a 26-15 advantage with 8:35 left in the opening half. The Panthers pulled within four points at 31-27, but the Mountaineers used baskets from
Donovan Gregory and Delph in the final minute to take a 35-27 lead into the intermission.
Delph paced the Mountaineers with a game-high 29 points, going 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) from the field and 5-of-10 (50.0 percent) from deep. He also pulled down three rebounds and had three steals for the third consecutive game.
Michael Almonacy also reached double figures with 10 points, to go along with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Gregory had eight points, a career-high tying six assists and five rebounds. Forrest finished with seven points, three assists and two steals.
The Mountaineers forced the Panthers into 12 turnovers, scoring 17 points off the miscues. The Black and Gold also dished out 14 assists, marking the third consecutive game with 13 or more assists.
Corey Allen paced Georgia State with 16 points, while Roberts added 13. Eliel Nsoseme and Ja'Heim Hudson each pulled down 11 rebounds for the Panthers.
App State will conclude its weekend road trip on Saturday at Georgia Southern at 3 p.m. on ESPN+.
