Conference Play Begins For Men’s Basketball At Appalachian State
Texas State has a slim 4-3 advantage in the all-time series against Appalachian State.
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men’s basketball team kicks off Sun Belt Conference play Friday night in Boone, North Carolina against Appalachian State. The game will start at 6:30 p.m. CT inside the Holmes Convocation Center.
The Bobcats enter conference play 7-6 on the season while the Mountaineers are 5-8.
Live stats and a free video stream will be available for the game with links on the team’s schedule page. Brant Freeman will have the call on the radio with the game being broadcast on 1300 AM The Zone out of Austin and KTSW 89.9 FM out of San Marcos. Fans can also listen to the game through the iHeartRadio and TuneIn Radio apps on their mobile devices.
Nijal Pearson leads TXST with 14.3 points per game and is tied for the team lead with Tyler Blount with 25 made three-pointers. The Beaumont, Texas native has connected on 40.5 percent of his shots and 36.2 percent of his attempts from long distance. He is second on the squad with 6.0 rebounds per game and 16 steals.
Continuing to lead the Bobcats and the Sun Belt in field goal percentage at 63.5 percent is Immanuel King. The senior forward has scored at least 14 points in four of the last five games on his way to putting up 10.1 ppg. After 24 total rebounds in the last two games, he has increased his season average to a team-high 6.6 per contest.
Netting at least seven points per game is Alex Peacock (7.5), Eric Terry (7.0) and Blount (7.9). Peacock heads into the game retrieving 5.6 rpg and pacing TXST with 18 steals. Blount has connected on a team best and 10th highest in the conference 43.9 percent of his three-point shot attempts.
Coming off a career night offensively in his hometown of Houston, Marlin Davis is scoring 5.3 ppg and dishing out a team-high 3.5 assists per game.
Scouting Appalachian State
Appalachian State has lost four straight with all of the games being on the road. The Mountaineers are 4-0 at home this season with victories over Bridgewater College, Davidson, South Florida and Toccoa Falls. Their lone win this season away from the Holmes Convocation Center was against UTEP in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic that was played in Conway, South Carolina.
Ronshad Shabazz leads the team and is fourth in the SBC with 20.9 ppg. He is shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 33.7 percent on long range attempts and a team-high 72.5 percent at the free throw line. The junior guard is also dishing out a team best 3.2 apg.
Second on the team in scoring is Justin Forrest at 16.1 ppg thanks to a team leading 37 made three-pointers and 38.1 three-pointer field goal percentage. The freshman guard has made 40.1 percent of his shots, grabbing 3.1 rpg and has recorded 16 steals.
Griffin Kinney is the third Mountaineer averaging double-digits in points at 10.4. He leads the team in field goal percentage (59.1) and is second with 5.0 rpg.
Leading APP with 8.2 rpg is Isaac Johnson, who is also putting up 7.5 ppg and is second with six rejections. Tyrell Johnson has blocked a team-high 19 shots and is netting 8.3 ppg.
Coming off the bench, O’Showen Williams contributes 6.9 ppg and leads all Mountaineers with 20 steals. He is the only non-starter to average over 20 minutes per game on the hardwood (24.0).
All-Time vs. Mountaineers
Texas State has a slim 4-3 advantage in the all-time series against Appalachian State. The Bobcats have won the last three meetings that included a season sweep last season. The 68-55 win last season in Boone was the first-ever for the Bobcats on the road against the Mountaineers.
For the latest on Texas State men’s basketball, visit the official website of Texas State athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, follow the team on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateMBB and like on Facebook at /TexasStateMensBasketball.
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.
Video: http://www.appstatesports.com/
Audio: http://txstatebobcats.com/
Game Notes: http://txstatebobcats.com/
