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Forrest Plays Hero Again to Give Mountaineers 61-60 Win Over Georgia State

Justin Forrest’s game-winning shot with 1.4 seconds left to play gave the Mountaineers a 61-60 win on Thursday night. Photo courtesy | Appalachian State Athletics

By Nathan Ham

Appalachian State senior Justin Forrest nailed the game-winning shot with 1.4 seconds left on the clock to give the Mountaineers a 61-60 victory over Georgia State on Thursday night. 

The Panthers took a 60-59 lead on a layup from Justin Roberts with 14 seconds left. Forrest was able to get inside the three point line but had to take a tough fadeaway jumper that he ended up hitting for the win. 

It has certainly been a week to remember for the senior guard. In addition to his heroics on Thursday night, Forrest blocked Coastal Carolina’s game-winning shot last Thursday in Boone to give the Mountaineers a 61-60 victory. On Saturday in a rematch with the Chanticleers, Forrest hit a big three-point shot in overtime that helped lead the Mountaineers to an 84-76 road win. 

Senior guard Adrian Delph led all scorers with 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting for the Mountaineers. Michael Almonacy had 10 points and four rebounds. Donovan Gregory scored 8 points to go along with five rebounds and a team-leading six assists. Forrest finished the contest with seven points. 

Corey Allen led Georgia State with 16 points. Roberts finished with 13 points and Evan Johnson added nine points. 

As a team, the Mountaineers shot 44% from the field and 38% from three-point territory. Georgia State shot 38% from the field and struggled from the perimeter, hitting just 24% (6-of-25) from three-point range. 

With the victory. App State improved to 11-9 overall and 5-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. Georgia State dropped to 6-8 overall and 0-3 in the Sun Belt. 

App will look for its fifth win in six games on Saturday when the Mountaineers face rival Georgia Southern in Statesboro. The game will tip off at 3 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+. The Eagles are 8-8 overall and 1-4 in conference play. Senior guard Elijah McCadden leads Georgia Southern in scoring with 13 points per game. Junior forward Andrei Savrasov is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 PPG and leads the team in rebounding with 5.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Kamari Brown is third on the team in scoring with 10.5 PPG.