App State charges back but comes up just short in loss to Norfolk State in First Four

Appalachian State made a short-lived return to the NCAA Tournament. And they sure made it interesting before it was done.

The Mountaineers (17-12) lost to Norfolk State, 54-53, on Thursday in their First Four matchup.

App State trailed by as many as 19 in the game, but had a chance at a winner with five seconds remaining. An inbound play resulted in a 3-point attempt from Michael Almonacy that bounced off the rim.

Justin Forrest secured a long offensive rebound for a jumper near the right elbow but couldn’t convert ahead of the buzzer.

Forrest helped to charge App State in the second half, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers during a 16-0 run that allowed the Mountaineers to push back. By the end of that, the Mountaineers nursed a six-point lead with just under six minutes remaining.

App State hampered itself with poor shooting early. The Mountaineers faced a scoreless stretch of nearly eight minutes as the Spartans’ lead steadily increased.

All told, Appalachian went 6-of-31 during the first half. That included an 0-for-18 clip from 3-point range. The Mountaineers hit their first 3 with 16:38 remaining in the game. It was their 21st attempt from long range.

It didn’t help that Norfolk State got a star performance off the bench. Jalen Hawkins had 20 points in the first half. He went 6-of-7 in the game’s first 20 minutes, making up almost half of Norfolk State’s made baskets during that stretch (the team shot 13-of-31 during that stretch). He hit all four of his 3s during that time. He finished with 24.