Mountaineers Roll Past Mars Hill in Season Opener

BOONE, N.C. -- Appalachian State men's basketball got the 2018-19 season, presented by AutoStar Nissan, off to a strong start with a 125-62 victory over Mars Hill in the season opener on Tuesday night inside the Holmes Center.

The 125 points are the second most points the Mountaineers (1-0) have scored in program history, trailing only a 135-point output last season against Toccoa Falls.

In addition, App State has now won its last five home openers under head coach Jim Fox and scored over 100 points in the last three.

All 14 players to see action for the Mountaineers scored at least three points, with four reaching double figures.

Justin Forrest led the way with 23 points on 9-of-12 (75.0 percent) shooting and a 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) mark from deep. He added four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Adrian Delph had 16 points off the bench, going 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the field and pulling down four rebounds.

Kevin Kerley added 10 points, on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting in a reserve role.

Ronshad Shabazz tallied 12 points and four assists. Joseph Battle had nine points, Isaac Johnson and Hunter Seacat finished with eight points and Bennett Holley and Breki Gylfason each finished with seven points.

Midway through the first half, App State used a 15-2 run to open a 33-13 advantage. The Mountaineers would build as large of a lead as 22 points in the opening half and took a 60-39 lead into the break.

In the second half, Appalachian put the game out of reach with a 33-1 run to push its lead to 101-48.

The Mountaineers shot 62.9 percent (44-of-70) from the field and 50.0 percent (14-of-28) on three-pointers.

App State also dished out 22 assists and scored 34 points off of 24 Mars Hill turnovers.

Appalachian State will play next on Sunday evening at 7 p.m. EST at SEC foe Alabama.

The contest will serve as a non-bracket game of the Charleston Classic and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.