BOONE, N.C. — The Georgia Southern men’s basketball team rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to get within one, but could not overcome Appalachian State, losing 87-84 Saturday evening at the Holmes Center.
The Eagles have now lost three in a row to the Mountaineers, including a setback in the Southern Conference Tournament last season.
App State improves to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in the SoCon while GSU falls to 6-4, 0-1.
“It would have been nice to steal one, but by watching it, we certainly didn’t deserve it,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “To come out and play the way we did the first 20 minutes, that’s when we lost the basketball game. If we’d have played with the intensity and heart we had in the second half, it wouldn’t have been a game. It’s hard to understand how in a league game you can come out and play like that.”
ASU’s D.J. Thompson led all scorers with 27 points and Demetrius Scott added 20. Thompson hit just one field goal in the second half after pouring in 17 in the opening period, but went 10-for-12 from the line in the last 20 minutes, including 4-for-4 in the final 31 seconds.
Junior Louis Graham notched his fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 boards and junior Dwayne Foreman scored a career-high 19 points with seven assists. Senior Donte Gennie tallied 18 points and senior Jimmy Tobias contributed 10.
“I thought if we could get it under five, we’d have a chance,” Price added. “At one point we did and got it under two. (But) we just made a couple of silly fouls. I’m just really disappointed with our effort in the first half. It’s awfully hard to win in this league, particularly on the road, when you go 20-for-31 from the line and give away halves, and that’s what we did.”
Next up for Georgia Southern is a road contest at Clemson Tuesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Eagles have now lost three in a row to the Mountaineers, including a setback in the Southern Conference Tournament last season.
App State improves to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in the SoCon while GSU falls to 6-4, 0-1.
“It would have been nice to steal one, but by watching it, we certainly didn’t deserve it,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “To come out and play the way we did the first 20 minutes, that’s when we lost the basketball game. If we’d have played with the intensity and heart we had in the second half, it wouldn’t have been a game. It’s hard to understand how in a league game you can come out and play like that.”
ASU’s D.J. Thompson led all scorers with 27 points and Demetrius Scott added 20. Thompson hit just one field goal in the second half after pouring in 17 in the opening period, but went 10-for-12 from the line in the last 20 minutes, including 4-for-4 in the final 31 seconds.
Junior Louis Graham notched his fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 boards and junior Dwayne Foreman scored a career-high 19 points with seven assists. Senior Donte Gennie tallied 18 points and senior Jimmy Tobias contributed 10.
“I thought if we could get it under five, we’d have a chance,” Price added. “At one point we did and got it under two. (But) we just made a couple of silly fouls. I’m just really disappointed with our effort in the first half. It’s awfully hard to win in this league, particularly on the road, when you go 20-for-31 from the line and give away halves, and that’s what we did.”
Next up for Georgia Southern is a road contest at Clemson Tuesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
