ARLINGTON, Tex. – App State men's basketball outscored UT Arlington 50-27 in the second half en route to a 70-61 victory on Saturday evening.
After trailing 34-20 at the break, App State (15-10, 9-3 SBC) shot 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field in the second half and limited the Mavericks (9-13, 5-6 SBC) to just 34.5 percent (10-of-25) shooting.
In the second frame, the Mountaineers used a 12-0 run over four-minute span to turn a 44-33 deficit into a 45-44 lead 10:06 remaining. UTA responded with four straight points, but the Mountaineers came right back with back-to-back threes from
Michael Almonacy and
Justin Forrest to take a 51-48 advantage with 6:19 left to play.
Leading 53-52, the Black and Gold used a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 62-52 with 1:46 to go, holding UTA scoreless for over three minutes. The Mavericks cut the Mountaineers lead to five points down the stretch, but App State converted on six free throws over the final 1:01 of the game to close out the victory.
In the early going, App State scored five straight points, capped by a 3-pointer from Almonacy to take an 8-5 lead with 12:00 left in the first half. UT Arlington answered with a 10-0 run to take a seven-point lead. The Mountaineers answered with four straight points, only to see the Mavericks score six consecutive points to open a 21-12 advantage with 5:15 left in the opening half. UTA held the lead for the remainder of the half and took the 14-point lead into the break.
CJ Huntley paced the Mountaineers with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) shooting and a 3-of-6 (50.0 percent) mark on 3-pointers. He added five rebounds.
Almonacy drained five treys to finish with 17 points, while grabbing a season-best seven rebounds.
Adrian Delph posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Donovan Gregory finished with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
App State forced the Mavericks into 16 turnovers, scoring 19 points off the miscues. The Mountaineers also held a 28-12 advantage in points in the paint and 13-6 edge in second chance points.
The victory is the first ever for App State in Arlington and is also the 50
th win for head coach
Dustin Kerns at the helm of the Black and Gold.
The Mountaineers head back to the High Country to begin a four-game home stand on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. against Georgia Southern on ESPN+. Single game tickets for the 2021-22 season are on sale and can be purchased by
clicking here.
