HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- App State men's basketball fell to Marshall in the home team's inaugural game in the Sun Belt, 53-79 on Thursday.
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Tyree Boykin led all scorers with 20. It was the second time he posted 20 this season, and the sixth time the graduate student tallied at least 14.
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The first 10 minutes of the game saw 11 points from Boykin, who posted three early 3-pointers.
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Throughout a back-and-forth first half, the Thundering Herd (12-2, 1-0 SBC) went on a run to gain a 21-15 advantage before the Mountaineers went on a 7-0 run to keep things close with six minutes to go. Marshall jumped back to a seven-point lead at the break.
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The second half was largely controlled by the home team, despite a few runs by the Mountaineers (7-7, 0-1 SBC) who finished with 16 points in the paint and 13 points off the bench.
Despite the result, App State forced 13 turnovers while only committing nine throughout the match.
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The Mountaineers will travel for their third consecutive road game and second SBC contest at Southern Miss (11-2, 0-0 SBC) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
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