Despite a career night from Justin Abson, App State fell to Marshall, 66-58.

The top two shot-blocking freshmen in the country, Abson and Micah Handlogten, battled down low all game, each blocking several shots and grabbing at least eight rebounds. Abson finished with a career-high 16 points on 7-11 shooting, blocked three shots, and tied his career-high of eight rebounds.

The Pompano Beach, Fla. native scored in multiple ways, cutting for a few run-sparking dunks and finishing several post-ups on the block. Defensively, he increased his season block total to 53, one shy of the all-time record at App State among freshmen.

The Sun Belt’s best defense in field goal percentage held the conference’s second-highest scoring team to 35% shooting, and only allowed seven 3-pointers on 28 attempts. Between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, App State kept Marshall from making a field goal for almost six minutes of play.

The visiting team led most of the way, despite App State’s biggest run at the beginning of the second period when the Black & Gold took a 2-point lead after an 8-0 run that was led by Abson and Donovan Gregory. Gregory finished with 12 points, six assists, and six rebounds. The senior point forward hit the 500-rebound mark for his career early in the first half.

Terence Harcum added 14, and CJ Huntley finished with seven points and seven rebounds.

The Mountaineers will finish their home stand with a game against James Madison on Saturday at 4 p.m. App State defeated James Madison, 71-62 on Jan. 7.