Georgia Southern dictated the tempo in the first half. Appalachian State took it over in the second half.
Donald Sims scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, when the Mountaineers scored 43 on their way to a 65-57 victory over the Eagles in the second round of the Southern Conference tournament at McKenzie Arena.
Appalachian State (16-14) will face Wofford in today’s quarterfinals at 4:30.
The game was a far cry from the regular-season battle, won 79-51 by the Mountaineers. Georgia Southern slowed the pace down and held leads in both halves, the last on a pair of free throws by Marvin Baynham with 15:43 to go.
Once the pace swung back in favor of the Mountaineers, so did the game.