Appalachian State will play its second game in the state of Texas when it continues Sun Belt Conference play on Monday, Jan. 2 at the University of Texas at Arlington. Tipoff between the Mountaineers and Mavericks is set for 8 p.m. ET inside the College Park Center.
Wednesday's contest can be heard live locally on WATA 1450 AM in Boone and Blowing Rock. It will also be carried on Appalachian State's flagship station, WKBC 97.3 FM, as well as, WZGV 730 AM, WCOG 1320 AM, and online/worldwide on appstatesports.com and via the TuneIn app.
LAST TIME OUT
• Appalachian State fell into an early hole against Texas State and a second-half surge wasn't enough in a 67-58 loss to open Sun Belt play.
• Appalachian was led offensively by Ronshad Shabazz who finished with a team-high 19 points.
• Griffin Kinney posted his second career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. The double-double was his second in as many games.
• Defensively, Tyrell Johnson swatted a career-high four shots and now leads App State with 14 this season.
• During a 1:22 minute stretch in the second half, Shabazz hit three treys in a row to help close the gap to 46-40.
• App State would pull to within just two points at 50-48 after trailing by 18 on the heels of a 24-10 run in the second period.
TOP HEADLINES AND SERIES HISTORY
• Appalachian State squares off against UT Arlington for its first matchup of the season tonight. The Mountaineers are 1-4 all time against the Mavericks.
• Last season, the Mountaineers were swept by the Mavericks in the season series.
• According to Ken Pomeroy, Appalachian State is the 13th-youngest team in the country (338/351).
• The Mountaineers currently have two players averaging over 5.0 rebounds per game: Isaac Johnson (5.5) and Kinney (5.3).
• In terms of offensive rebounding, guard Kelvin Robinson (21) trails only I. Johnson (24).
• Despite the loss at Texas State, Appalachian State posted 40+ rebounds for the sixth time this season and outrebounded its opponent for the eighth time.
• UT Arlington enters tonight's matchup playing very good basketball and sporting an 11-3 overall mark, including a 1-0 record in Sun Belt play.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
• The Mavs opened on Dec. 31 with a convincing 90-69 win over Coastal Carolina.
• In the win, the Mavs posted six players scoring in double-figures.
• UTA is led by Kevin Hervey with 13.9 points per game, while Jalen Jones posts 12.5 per contest.
• Hervey also leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 boards per game.
• Erick Neal runs the Maverick offense with 103 assists this season (7.4 per game) to just 51 turnovers.
• As a team, the Mavs hold positives in scoring (+9.1) and rebounding (+4.0).
• UTA is shooting nearly 48.0 percent from the floor, while hitting 35.0 percent from 3.
WHAT'S NEXT
• Appalachian State will play at home next weekend Jan. 7 and Jan. 9 against both Little Rock and Arkansas State.
