Michael Almonacy scored a career-high 32 points as Appalachian State beat the Sun Belt's number one-seeded Georgia State Panthers, 80-73, to win their first Sun Belt Conference title in program history on Monday. Junior guard Adrian Delph scored 22 points and senior guard Justin Forrest had 15. Sophomore guard Donovan Gregory contributed with 10 rebounds, his third straight game with nine rebounds or more.
Almonacy, the senior transfer from Stony Brook University, has averaged 12 points on the season and 18 points in the Sun Belt Conference tournament alone, which earned him the title of Sun Belt Conference Tournament MVP.
Senior guard Kane Williams scored 18 points for Georgia State while senior guard Corey Allen, who came into the game as the Panthers' leading scorer, was limited to nine points.
The Panthers led by two points going into halftime, but the Mountaineers quickly took control in the second half, jumping to a 12-point lead with two minutes to go, and didn't look back.
App State not only captures their first-ever Sun Belt Conference title, but by doing so punches their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years.
