Simonds lifts Georgia State past Appalachian State 83-72 (Jan 23, 2017)

By AP
Published

ATLANTA (AP) D'Marcus Simonds scored 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting to lead Georgia State to an 83-72 win over Appalachian State on Monday night.

Malik Benlevi added 10 points for Georgia State (12-7, 5-2 Sun Belt), which shot 57 percent from the field to pick up its fourth-straight win. Simonds was just a point shy of tying his career high.

Leading by seven at the break, Georgia State broke away with a 10-0 run sparked by Simonds' 3-point play to lead 57-37 midway through the second half and hung on from there.

Appalachian State (6-12, 1-6) started strong, scoring eight of the game's first 11 points and later got a layup from Tyrell Johnson midway through the first half to retake the lead 19-18. But the Panthers responded with a layup from Isaiah Dennis to begin pulling steadily away.

Johnson finished with a career-high 22 points to lead four Mountaineers in double figures.