PENSACOLA, Fla. — After jumping out to a 10-0 lead, No. 2-seeded App State never trailed in a 73-60 victory over No. 10-seeded Georgia Southern in its opening game at the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship. 
 

?????? ?????????? ???? ????????.@GEICO Final Score: No. 2 seed @AppStateMBB never trails in 73-60 win over No. 10 seed @GSAthletics_MBB in the quarterfinals, as it looks to defend its @HerculesTires #SunBeltMBB Championship tournament crown. ???? pic.twitter.com/fhafSwqsV4

— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) March 6, 2022

 
The defending tournament champion Mountaineers picked up where they left off in Pensacola, securing the first double-digit victory of this year’s conference tournament. 
 
Senior guard Justin Forrest led the way for App State, netting 14 first-half points en route to a season-high 20. 
 

???????????? ???????? ???? ?????? ????????.@AppStateMBB senior guard @JustinForrest_1 was ?????? ?????????? in scoring a season-high 20 points in quarterfinal action, including this ???????????? crossover for the #SunBeltMBB @HerculesTires Strong Move of the Game. ???? pic.twitter.com/03EgH0gDkB

— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) March 6, 2022

With the win, App State advances to the tournament semifinals, where it will meet No. 3-seeded Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, March 6. The two teams split the regular-season series, with the Panthers taking the most recent meeting 58-49 on Feb. 12 in Boone. 
 
The traditional cast of junior forward Donovan Gregory (17), senior guard Adrian Delph (13) and graduate student guard Michael Almonacy (11) joined Forrest in double-figures for the Mountaineers, while senior guard Kaden Archie (17) led the way for the Eagles in the losing effort.