STATESBORO, Ga. – Leading by just four points at halftime after Georgia Southern made a 3-pointer with eight seconds to play, it appeared that this game was heading toward a tight finish. But the App State men's basketball team embarked on a 14-5 run to open the half to jump out to a 13-point lead, which helped it post an 81-65 victory over the Eagles in Statesboro. The win and a Troy loss to Texas State moved App State into first place in the Sun Belt standings.
Kasen Jennings stole the show on Wednesday against Georgia Southern (14-12, 6-7 SBC), as he posted his second 30-point game in the last 10 days with 31 points. Jennings scored 14 first-half points and 17 second-half points to get to the final tally. He became the first Mountaineer since Justin Forrest and Ronshad Shabazz in 2018-19 to post multiple 30-point games in the same season with a free throw at the 2:19 mark of the first half.
App State (18-9, 10-4 SBC) turned a seven-point lead with just under 10 minutes to go into an 18-point lead by the final media timeout, which played a key role in draining the energy from the home crowd. Jennings played catalyst during this run, as he poured in 11 of his 31 points during this stretch, and kick-started the run with a strong move to the basket through contact for an and-1 chance after the Eagles trimmed their deficit down to seven.
The Mountaineers' win clinched a 10-win season in conference play for the third consecutive season, marking the first time since 1997-2000 that App State has done that. App State is now the only team in the Sun Belt Conference with 10 wins after Wednesday's win.
How it Happened
App State drilled two early 3-pointers, one from Jennings and one from
Alonzo Dodd, to take a four-point lead just 90 seconds into the game. Although Georgia Southern cut it down to one point by the first media timeout, a
Michael Marcus Jr. layup and a
Chad Moodie fast-break basket helped App State build a five-point lead with 12:50 to play in the first half. Georgia Southern never got as close as three points for the rest of the game.
Jennings' second score of the early going pushed the Mountaineers ahead by eight points out of the under-12 timeout, and after an Eagle 3-pointer, Jennings answered back with a three of his own to make the score 18-10 with just over 11 minutes to play.
Eren Banks tallied his first points of the contest against his former team before the under-eight timeout, and Dodd drilled a free throw to push App State back ahead by eight with 5:59 to play until halftime.
Georgia Southern cut its deficit down to just six points before the final media timeout, but App State quickly responded by scoring five of the next seven points to reclaim a nine-point lead. The Eagles scored five straight points to close the gap down to four points, but Jennings muscled his way into the paint after intercepting a pass for an and-1 chance, which made it a seven-point game with 23 seconds to play. But it was the Eagles that closed strong as they hit a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game as halftime hit in Statesboro.
After seeing their once nine-point lead shrink to four, the Mountaineers got to work to open the final half and swiftly raced ahead by double digits early in the second half. Jennings scored again on a fast-break chance before his layup gave App State its first double-digit lead of the game at the 16:50 mark.
A Dodd layup and a Marcus Jr. 3-pointer soared App State ahead by 13 by the first media timeout of the final half. Georgia Southern cut the gap back down to six after tallying a 7-0 run, but baskets by Dodd and Banks helped push the Mountaineers back ahead by 11 by the under-12 timeout. Moodie's hustle on the glass led to a dunk, and all of a sudden, the Mountaineers were ahead by 13 once again.
Trailing by 13, the Eagles went to work and shrank their deficit back down to eight with 9:54 to play. This is when the Mountaineers began to take over. Jennings started an extended run by hitting a layup through contact before
Luke Wilson threw down an alley-oop dunk to shoot the Mountaineers back ahead by 11 with eight minutes to play.
After a timeout, Dodd, Jennings and Marcus Jr. combined for seven points to send App State to a 14-point advantage. Then, Dodd raced into the lane for a score, and the Mountaineers led by 16 with four minutes to go. A pair of free throws by Jennings gave App State a game-high 18-point lead and sent him over the 30-point mark for the second time this season.
Georgia Southern closed the game well and trimmed its deficit down to 13 points by the end of the game, but a Marcus Jr. layup through contact cemented a 16-point win for the Mountaineers in Statesboro. The win was App State's seventh in a row.
Top Performers
Jennings' 31 points led all scorers on Wednesday, as he stole the show yet again by shooting 9-18 from the field and 10-11 from the free-throw line. The Atlanta native, who was playing back in his home state against the Eagles, also hauled in six rebounds in the contest. Marcus Jr. played one of his best games of the season against Georgia Southern, tallying a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. It marked his third 20-point game of the season. Dodd fell just shy of a 20-point game with 18 points, and scored efficiently with a 7-12 clip from the field.
Up Next
App State will embark on Harrisonburg, Va., for its penultimate road game of the regular season on Saturday against James Madison. Tipoff from the Atlantic Union Bank Center is scheduled for 4 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
