TROY, Ala. – App State men's basketball fell by a 68-53 score at Troy on Saturday evening.
Adrian Delph paced the Mountaineers (8-9, 2-2 SBC) with a game-high 16 points, including a 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) mark from the free throw line. He added three rebounds and three steals.
Donovan Gregory also reached double figures with 12 points, to go along with eight rebounds and three assists.
CJ Huntley pulled down a career-high nine rebounds (four offensive) and
James Lewis Jr. had seven boards.
App State used an early 9-2 run to jump out to an 11-5 advantage. Troy (12-5, 3-1 SBC) countered with five straight points to pull within one, but the Mountaineers used baskets from
Michael Eads Jr. and Gregory to push their lead back to 15-10 with 11:05 left in the opening half.
The Trojans used an 8-2 run to open a 18-17 edge, only to see App State counter with the next four points to take a 21-18 lead. The lead changed hands five more times over the final six minutes of the opening half, with Troy taking a 30-29 lead into the break.
Delph gave App State the lead to begin the second half with a basket, but Troy answered with five straight points to open a 35-31 lead with 17:54 to go. The Trojans pushed their advantage to six points at 39-33, only to see the Black and Gold pull within three points at 43-40 with 12:58 remaining.
From there, Troy scored seven of the next eight points to extend its lead to 50-41 with just under 12 minutes to go. The Mountaineers pulled within seven down the stretch, but Troy made six consecutive free throws in the closing minutes to close out the victory.
The Mountaineers won the rebounding battle 36-33, including a 12-7 advantage on the offensive glass. The Black and Gold also outscored Troy in second chance points by a 12-7 margin.
App State will return home to begin a home-and-home series with Coastal Carolina on Thursday evening. Tip in the Holmes Convocation Center is set for 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Tickets can be purchased by
clicking here.
