Rowbury, McFarlane notch double-doubles but Lions fall to App State

BOONE, N.C. – The Southeastern Louisiana University men’s basketball team got the first two double-doubles of the season from Brody Rowbury and Roger McFarlane, but 53 second half points by Appalachian State was too much to overcome as the Lions dropped their final game of the Appalachian State Multi-Team Event to the homestanding Mountaineers, 83-74, Sunday afternoon at the Holmes Convocation Center.

Southeastern found itself trailing by seven, 23-16, with just more than 8:30 remaining in the first half when Christian Agnew split a pair of free throws to start a 13-0 SLU run, aided by the Lions getting hot from above the three-point arc. Matthew Strange hit back-to-back threes to tie the game, then Mehdi Pissis ripped the net from long range to give SLU the lead. Strange hit another transition three to cap the run and give the Lions their largest lead of the half at 29-23 with 5:15 left before the break. Southeastern maintained that lead throughout the rest of the half, eventually taking a 35-30 lead into the break.

However, trouble started right out the gate in the second half as Appalachian State scored the first five points of the second half to tie the score. A three by Roscoe Eastmond put the Lions back in front, however, the Mountaineers scored the next seven to take a four-point lead at 44-40 with 14:00 left.

The Lions battled back to tie the score at 48-48 on another three-pointer by Eastmond, but then the onslaught by Appalachian State began. The Mountaineers scored the next eight points as part of a larger 18-4 run to give App State its largest lead of the contest for the first time at 66-52.

Trailing 75-63 with 2:30 left, the Lions summoned up their comeback skills one more time on the weekend as Mehdi Pissis was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit two-of-three at the line to start a 9-2 spurt, which he capped with a three-pointer with 45 seconds left to make it a five-point game at 77-72. But that would be as close as Southeastern would get the rest of the way as Appalachian State closed out the contest in the closing seconds.

McFarlane and Rowbury both picked up their first career double-doubles in the contest. McFarlane scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Rowbury flipped those numbers, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 board. Rowbury added a block while McFarlane added an assist and two steals. Eastmond added 12 points, two rebounds, and an assist. Boogie Anderson grabbed six rebounds, five assists, and had a pair of steals.

SLU shot 34.7% while App State hit on 47.5% of their shots. The Lions only made two less shots than the Mountaineers did, however, Southeastern hit three more from above the three-point arc, 12-9. Appalachian State outscored the Lions at the free throw line, 18-10, while enjoying ten more attempts at the stripe than SLU, 25-15.

With the five-game road trip now behind them, the Lions (3-3) come back home for a game on Saturday against William Carey as part of a big day on campus. Tip-off of Saturday’s game against the Crusaders (1-4) is set for 1:00 P.M. in the University Center.

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TICKETS
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