CONWAY, S.C. — Appalachian State trailed by as many as 18 points in the second half and was able to pull to within six points, but Iowa State hit enough big shots down the stretch to hang on for a 104-98 win in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Thursday night.
The Mountaineers played step for step with the Cyclones in the first half, trailing by just four points at the half.
Iowa State looked like they were going to pull away after pulling out to a 79-61 lead. However, the Mountaineers rallied back to get to within eight points with a little over three minutes left to play and got to within six just before time expired.
While App State might not have won, they certainly got to witness the coming out party for freshman Justin Forrest. The Georgia native scored a career-high 32 points, 26 of which came in the second half. Those 26 points also set a Puerto Rico Tip-Off record for most points in a half.
Ronshad Shabazz did his part to help the Mountaineers out on offense, equaling Forrest’s point total of 32 points.
Isaac Johnson added eight points, six rebounds and five assists, Bennett Holley scored nine points on three shots from three-point land and Craig Hinton added seven points. O’Showen Williams scored five points and had a team-high eight assist while Tyrell Johnson rounded out the Mountaineer scoring line with five points.
Donovan Jackson led Iowa State with 26 points. Nick Weiler-Babb added 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds while former Oak Hill Academy standout Lindell Wigginton scored 17 points and had three assists. Cameron Lard scored 12 points and had a game-high 11 rebounds and Jeff Beverly added 10 points and two steals.
Iowa State improved to 1-2 while App State dropped to 2-1.
Western Michigan 86, Appalachian State 67
In the consolation round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, the Mountaineers had four players reach double-digit scoring, however Western Michigan was just too much offensively in the second half, pulling away for the victory Friday evening.
The game was tied 40-40 at the half, but Western Michigan opened the second half on a 15-0 run, something the Mountaineers never recovered from.
Ronshad Shabazz led App State (2-2) with 25 points and four assists. Justin Forrest scored 13 points while Isaac Johnson had 12 points and nine rebounds and Griffin Kinney scored 10 points and snagged five boards.
For Western Michigan (2-2), Thomas Wilder led all players with 31 points, including going 12-of-14 at the free throw line. Bryce Moore added 14 points and Brandon Johnson chipped in 12 points.
Nathan Ham can be reached at 336-489-3062.
