Trailing by 10 at halftime, Georgia Southern men's basketball chipped away and took a late lead against top-seeded App State - but couldn't continue its momentum, falling in overtime.
The Eagles (9-24, 8-10 Sun Belt) got 36 points from Tyren Moore, but the top-seeded Mountaineers (27-5, 16-2) made the most of their opportunities in the 85-80 win.
App started hot, leading 13-5 at the 15:39 mark. They extended the lead to 33-19 at 5:09.
Cam Bryant made 1-2 free throws at the end of the first half to make it a 41-31 deficit at halftime.
The Eagles ran back to begin the second half. Eugene Brown III hit a three, and Moore began his offensive explosion by nailing a trey, cutting the deficit to four.
Moore extended his point total to 29 at the under-8 and the App advantage was down to three points.
Malik Tidwell's driving layup and subsequent lay-in by Nate Bradford put the Eagles up three, coming back at the 5:47 mark.
The teams traded leads over the final five minutes. With the final possession, Moore's layup of the glass fell short, and overtime was needed.
The Mountaineers outscored the Eagles 9-4 in overtime. With a chance to tie it in the waning seconds, Cam Bryant's three did not connect, and the Eagles fell 85-80.
Moore paced all scorers with a GS SBC Tournament record 36 points, a new career-high. His 29 field goal attempts are a new Georgia Southern record.
Avantae Parker (14) and Tidwell (11) had double figures. Parker and Brown both had seven rebounds.
The Eagles nailed 9 threes to stretch their season total to 309, a new Georgia Southern record.
Charlie Henry finished his first season as head coach with a 9-24 record with 8 wins coming during conference play.
