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.C./East Forsyth/VMI) who grabbed eight boards.

The contest was very slow to get started offensively with the Apps leading the Trojans (19-14) 3-2 at the first media timeout with 14:57 to play in the opening half.

Both teams started to get into a rhythm, while Troy would be quick to jump out to a double-digit lead toward the end of the half - leading App State 33-21 with 3:25 left.

The Black and Gold would engineer a 7-0 run - sparked by a T. Johnson free throw and capped by back-to-back threes from Shabazz to pull to within five and Troy would take a seven-point lead into the break.

The Trojans kept the Mountaineers at a safe distance for the first couple minutes of the second period, but with App State down 44-37, the Mountaineers put together a 7-3 run behind layups from I. Johnson and Shabazz to cut the deficit to just three points at 47-44.

However, Troy would construct a 15-4 run to answer the Mountaineers' comeback bid and pushed its lead to a game-high 14 points at 62-48 with 10:52 to play. Troy grew its lead and would go on to win the game 84-64.

Wesley Person led the Trojans with a game-high 29 points. 

Notes: App State moves to 6-2 all-time against Troy … Ronshad Shabazz tallied his 27th double-digit scoring game of the season and 45th of his career … it was also Shabazz's seventh 20-point outing of the year and 14th of his career … Shabazz finishes the season 128 points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau … Isaac Johnson becomes the first freshman to lead the Mountaineers in rebounding since Mel Hubbard (1975-76) … Johnson's 10 points marked his seventh double-digit scoring game of the season … Tyrell Johnson scored 11 points for his eighth double-digit scoring game of the season and 10th of his career.