NEW ORLEANS –– Appalachian State University men’s basketball cut a 12-point first half deficit to just seven points at the break, but Troy would overwhelmingly take control in the second half and handed Appalachian an 84-64 defeat in the opening round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament on Wednesday.
The Mountaineers (9-21) were paced by Ronshad Shabazz’s (Raleigh, N.C./Huntington Prep (W.V.)) team-high 22 points. Tyrell Johnson (Atlanta, Ga./Stephenson) added 11 points, while freshman Isaac Johnson (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) notched 10 points and six rebounds.
Leading App State on the glass was Craig Hinton (Winston-Salem, N.