11/11/2018 basketball Edit

App Falls Short At Alabama As Shabazz Hits Milestone

The Mountaineers led nearly 30 minutes into its game at Alabama on Sunday before the Tide pulled away. (The Crimson White)

App State Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, AL -- Appalachian State men's basketball guard Ronshad Shabazz scored the 1,500th point of his career, but the Mountaineers came up on the short end of a 81-73 decision at Alabama on Sunday evening in a non-bracket game of the Charleston Classic.

Shabazz scored his milestone point on a three-pointer at the 12:30 mark of the first half. In addition, his 21-point performance moved him into ninth place on the all-time scoring list, passing Charles Payton (1,494) for 10th and Stan Davis (1,509) for ninth. He now has 1,514 points in his career.

Isaac Johnson tallied his first double-double of the season and fifth of his career with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) shooting and 13 rebounds (five offensive). Justin Forrest added 14 points for App State (1-1).

The Crimson Tide (2-0) opened an early 13-6 lead, only too see the Black and Gold counter with an 14-4 run to open a 20-17 advantage with just under 10 minutes left in the first half. Alabama used a 10-0 run later in the half to jump in front 29-22, only to see the Mountaineers respond with nine consecutive points and take a 31-29 lead. A late trey by John Petty of Alabama gave the Crimson Tide a 38-35 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Black and Gold scored the first eight points to take a 43-38 lead and pushed its lead to 56-50 with just over 12 minutes to play. From there, Alabama used a 14-1 run to jump in front 64-57 and built as large of a lead as 11 points at 74-63. App State would trim the deficit to as few as seven points, but could get no closer.

The Mountaineers shot 49.0 percent (25-of-51) from the field and knocked down 9-of-15 (60.0 percent) three-pointers. Alabama shot 25-of-65 (38.5 percent) and went 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) from deep.

Kira Lewis Jr. led four Alabama players in double figure scoring with 21 points and four rebounds. Petty added 13, Donta Hall had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Herbert Jones finished with 10 points.

Appalachian State will play next on Thursday in the First Round of the Charleston Classic at 5 p.m. versus No. 24 Purdue. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN2. App State will then play either Davidson or Wichita State on Friday at 4:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU and close out the tournament on Nov. 18 at a time and an opponent that has yet to be determined.