Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Host Troy in Home Finale

Senior Day starts at 4:45 p.m.

Georgia Southern (19-11, 10-7) vs. Troy (15-15, 9-8)
Saturday, March 3, 2018 - Hanner Fieldhouse (3,897) – 5 p.m.
Series: GS leads 14-8, W1
Last Meeting: 12/29/18, W 86-80 (away)
TV: ESPN3 and WSAV-CW
Radio: GS Sports Network (pregame show starts a half hour before tipoff) - WMCD 107.3 FM (Statesboro), 630 AM WBMQ (Savannah), 1370 AM WLOP (Jesup)
Promotions: • It's Senior Day, and Georgia Southern will recognize seniors Jake Allsmiller, B.J. Gladden, Mike Hughes, Tione Jones and Coye Simmons, who are playing in their final home game, along with student manager Kareem Sanders. Senior Day ceremonies will begin at approximately 4:45 p.m. Senior cheerleaders will be recognized at halftime.

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Georgia Southern	Troy
Roster	Roster
Stats	Stats
Schedule	Schedule

Probable GS Starters:
#0 Montae Glenn
#2 Mike Hughes
#3 Ike Smith
#4 Tookie Brown
#10 Jake Allsmiller

Setting the Scene
• Georgia Southern plays its home finale Saturday against Troy at 5 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. The game will air live on ESPN3 and on WSAV-CW in Savannah.
• It's Senior Day, and Georgia Southern will recognize seniors Jake Allsmiller, B.J. Gladden, Mike Hughes, Tione Jones and Coye Simmons, who are playing in their final home game, along with student manager Kareem Sanders. Senior Day ceremonies will begin at approximately 4:45 p.m. Senior cheerleaders will be recognized at halftime.
• The senior class has 73 wins in their four years, the most since the 2007 class recorded 74.
• The Eagles are alone in third place in the Sun Belt standings and can clinch the third seed in the upcoming conference tournament with a win over Troy. The top-four teams receive a first-round bye in the tournament March 7-11 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. Six teams, including Troy and Georgia Southern, are vying for the third and fourth positions. Louisiana has clinched the regular-season title, and Georgia State has clinched the second seed.
• The game caps a stretch in which GS plays five of its final seven regular-season games at home.
• It's the second of two scheduled meetings between the Eagles and Trojans this season. GS won the first match-up 86-80 back on Dec. 29.
• GS is 3-2 in its last five and coming off an 81-74 victory over South Alabama Thursday night.
• GS and Louisiana are the only two teams that have reached double digit conference wins in each of the last four seasons. UTA is 9-8 in league play.
• Georgia Southern is 21-6 in Hanner Fieldhouse in its last 27 contests there, 49-18 in four-plus years under Mark Byington and 28-9 in Sun Belt games. The Eagles are 9-3 in Hanner this season.
• Sixteen of GS's 30 games have been decided by six points or less, and the Eagles are 9-7. Eleven have been one-possession games, and the Eagles are 5-6. GS is 3-5 in games decided by two points or less.
• Troy is 3-2 in its last five and coming off an 83-70 victory at Georgia State Thursday night. The Trojans have won six of their last eight.
• Troy is 4-9 on the road this season and 3-5 in road league games.
• Leading scorer Wesley Person has broken the record for most 3-pointers in Sun Belt history and became the first player in Troy history to score over 2,000 points.

The Series vs. Troy
• Georgia Southern leads the all-time series, which began in 1932, 14-8, but has lost two of the last three.
• Eight of the last nine meetings have been decided by seven points or less.
• The series is tied 4-4 since the Eagles joined the Sun Belt in 2014, and GS is 5-1 at home.
• Eight of the Eagles' wins were recorded before 1964 as the teams played 13 times between 1932 and 1964.
• The series was renewed Dec. 9, 1991 with the Eagles earning a 102-94 home win.

Team Storylines
• Georgia Southern ranks 21st in the nation in offensive rebounds, and Montae Glenn ranks second in the country. The Eagles are fifth in the SBC in rebounding and second in offensive rebounds, and their rebound average of 38.2 is a 3.7 rebound per game improvement from last year (34.7).
• Tookie Brown is shooting 53.1 percent from the field, which ranks 70th in the country. The junior is the only player listed under 6-foot ranked in the top-100.
• GS is averaging 76.2 points a game, and the Eagles have scored over 80 points 11 times, over 90 four times and over 100 twice. GS ranks third in the SBC in scoring and third in scoring margin.
• The Eagles have been without leading scorers and first-team Preseason All-Sun Belt selections Ike Smith or Tookie Brown for six games this season.
• Georgia Southern ranks second in the SBC in fewest turnovers, first in turnover margin and fourth in turnovers forced. The Eagles have posted 10 turnovers or less in 10 contests.
• Georgia Southern's top-5 seasons in 3-pointers made and attempted have all come during Mark Byington's tenure. GS has made 10-plus triples in a game 12 times this season.
• Mark Byington is coaching in his 171st career game today and his 160th at Georgia Southern. He is five wins shy of 100 for his career, and his 51 wins in his first three seasons at Georgia Southern were the best of any coach in the modern era. He posted a 7-4 record at College of Charleston in 2012, filling in as the interim coach for Bobby Cremins.
• Byington signed a contract extension in February that will keep him at GS through 2022.
• Under Byington, Georgia Southern is 61-14 in games when leading at half and 74-8 when leading with five minutes to go.
• GS reached double-digit wins before the new year for the first time in school history. The Eagles' 10th victory of the season was an 86-80 decision at Troy Dec. 30.
• The Eagles finished the regular season 8-7 in true road games and 10-8 away from home. The last time GS won eight true road games was in 2014-15.
• The Eagles will be wearing green shoelaces for the rest of the season to promote Mental Health Awareness.
• Entering the 2017-18 campaign, GS joined UTA and Louisiana as the only three teams to reach double digit wins in conference play in each of the last three seasons and has the third most victories (36) against league competition during that time.
• Since joining the Sun Belt in 2014, 36 Georgia Southern games against Sun Belt schools have been decided by five points or less, and the Eagles are 22-13.
• The Eagles are 31-7 in Sun Belt games when leading at halftime. GS is 36-3 when leading with five minutes to go.

Next Up
• Georgia Southern travels to the Sun Belt Tournament March 7-11 at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. The tourney winner receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
• All games will air on ESPN3, and the championship contest will air live on ESPN2 March 11 at 1 p.m.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides current information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, which is fully responsive across all mobile devices. Information on Eagle athletics can also be found through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics and Instagram.com/GSAthletics. To purchase tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.

In order to expedite entry and provide a safe environment for all patrons and participants, Georgia Southern Athletics has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all ticketed sporting events, effective Aug. 1, 2017. Fans can find the complete policy as well as an FAQ section at GSEagles.com/ClearBag.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Jake Allsmiller: G; 6' 5"; Senior

#4 Tookie Brown: G; 5' 11"; Junior

#5 B.J. Gladden: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#0 Montae Glenn: F; 6' 8"; Junior

#2 Mike Hughes: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#14 Coye Simmons: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#3 Ike Smith: G; 6' 4"; Junior

#21 Tione Jones: G; 5' 8"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#10 Jake Allsmiller
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G

#4 Tookie Brown
: 5' 11"; Junior
: G

#5 B.J. Gladden
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#0 Montae Glenn
: 6' 8"; Junior
: F

#2 Mike Hughes
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#14 Coye Simmons
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#3 Ike Smith
: 6' 4"; Junior
: G

#21 Tione Jones
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

Georgia Southern University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned