Gregory Nets Career-High 23 Points in Men's Basketball 72-57 Win Over Little Rock

BOONE, N.C. -- Donovan Gregory scored 23 points as App State men's basketball scored the final 10 points of the game in a 72-57 win over Little Rock on Saturday.

Gregory finished 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from the field and had five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. It marks his second 20-point game of the season.

The Mountaineers have now won six in a row and stand at 14-9 overall and 8-2 in Sun Belt play. The six-game winning streak is the longest for the program since 2010. In addition, the 8-2 conference start is the best for App State since opening SoCon play 9-2 in the 2007-08 season.

App State led by six at the half, but Little Rock (7-11, 2-4 SBC) scored the first four points out of the break to pull within 35-33. The Mountaineers pushed their lead to 11 points at 49-38. But the Trojans stormed back and cut the App State lead to 53-52 with 6:55 remaining. 

The Mountaineers scored the next five points to push their lead to 58-52 with 5:50 to go. The Trojans pulled within 62-57 with 3:33 remaining, but it was all App State from there, as the Mountaineers held Little Rock scoreless the rest of the way and closed the game on a 10-0 run.

The Mountaineers used back-to-back 3-pointers from CJ Huntley and Michael Almonacy to open a 10-5 lead in the early going. Following a Trojan basket, App State scored six straight to open a 16-7 edge with 13:29 left in the opening half. Little Rock countered with an 8-0 run to pull within a point at 16-15, only to see the Mountaineers answer with nine consecutive points to extend their lead to 25-15 with 7:58 left in the opening half. The Trojans pulled within three late, but the Black and Gold used an old-fashioned 3-point play from Gregory in the final seconds to take a 35-29 lead into the break.

Adrian Delph posted a near double-double with 19 points on 54.5 percent (6-of-11) shooting and nine rebounds. Huntley added 14 points, draining four 3-pointers, and Justin Forrest chipped in with 12 points (all in the second half) and a season-high six rebounds.

The Mountaineers won the rebounding battle 38-29, including an 11-7 edge on the offensive glass. App State also outscored Little Rock 26-22 in the paint.

App State will head to Texas next weekend for a pair of road games. The Mountaineers battle Texas State on Thursday at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN+ and UT Arlington on Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. EST on ESPN+.