Georgia Southern Looks to Even Record Against Chicago State

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas -The Georgia Southern Men's Basketball team (2-3) looks to even its record when the Eagles play the Cougars of Chicago State Friday, November 26th. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. Eastern time. The contest against Chicago State is the third of four games comprising the South Padre Invitational.

THE SERIES
This is the first meeting between Chicago State and Georgia Southern. Chicago State is the last of three opponents the Eagles will face for the first time this season. Georgia Southern opened the year at Notre Dame on November 12th and played host to Carver College on November 15th at Hanner Fieldhouse in its 2010-11 season home opener.

WHAT WE LEARNED LAST GAME

Five Eagles scored in double-figures with Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) leading the way with 21 points. Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.), Jelani Hewitt (Oakland Park, Fla.), Cameron Baskerville (Marietta, Ga.) and Tré Bussey (Atlanta, Ga.) totaled 17, 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively. At least three Eagles have scored in double figures every game this season. Bussey's 10 points tied a career-high total and Drayton's 40 minutes played against Texas Tech matches a career high from 2009 when Georgia Southern played College of Charleston on February 19th. The eight rebounds grabbed by Hewitt is a career best.

THE COACHES
Eagles Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young, named after actor Charlton Heston, is a 1994 graduate of "THE" Georgia Southern University who started at point guard for the Eagles from 1989-1993. Introduced on April 9, 2009 as the new "CEO" of the Georgia Southern Men's Basketball program, Young guides a program on the rise.

As a player, Young was named the Trans American Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player for his performances in three Eagle victories in the 1992 TAAC tournament and he capped the championship victory over Georgia State with 20 points and eight assists, leading the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament.

A three-time All-Conference selection at point guard in two different leagues (Trans America Athletic: 1990-91, 1991-92; Southern: 1992-93), Young earned All-Tournament Team honors in both the TAAC and SoCon and still stands in the 'Top 10' in numerous Georgia Southern statistical categories.

Cougars Head Coach Tracy Dildy enters his first year at Chicago State. The Chicago native comes to CSU after a three-year stint at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he served as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. Before UIC, Davis spent one-year on Mike Davis' coaching staff at UAB. The 20-year veteran has also had coaching stints at DePaul, Ole Miss, Auburn and Ball State.

CHICAGO STATE COUGARS
Chicago State opened its 2010-11 campaign defeating Concordia University 79-75. The Cougars have not found the win column since, losing four straight games to fall to 1-4 coming into Friday's game against the Eagles.

Last game, Chicago State fell behind early in the first half against St. Mary's and found itself trailing 62-27 at the half. The big first half lead would help the Gaels cruise to a 121-52 win. Hajji Martin led the Cougars with 13 points while Carl Montgomery grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Montgomery is the leading rebounder on the team with eight per game while Victor Scott is averaging a team best 11.4 points a game.

Chicago State return three starters from a 2009-10 squad that finished tied for fifth in the Great West Conference with 9-23 overall record. Two of the returning starters, Montgomery and Christian Wall, attained second team All-Great West Conference honors a year ago.  

THE CENTURY MARK
Georgia Southern's 101-84 victory against Reinhardt marked the first time the Eagles had scored at least 100 points in a game since last year's season-opening 108-59 win over Reinhardt.

BEEN A WHILE
While the Eagles have three first-time opponents on the schedule in Notre Dame, Carver College and Chicago State, there are a few who haven't been around in a while. Former TAAC rival Georgia State will return to Hanner Fieldhouse for the first time since 1996 on December 22. Both South Alabama (Dec. 18) and Eastern Kentucky (January 2) are making their first trips to Statesboro since the 1980s.

BIG OPENING NIGHT FOR FERGUSON
Guard Eric Ferguson's debut against Notre Dame produced 26 points, the most points by a freshman in a first game in Georgia Southern NCAA Division I history. The Statesboro, Ga., native went 6-11 from the field and 14-16 from the free throw line for his 26 total.

LAST GAME
Early foul trouble from the Eagles, coupled with 53.1 percent shooting from the floor for the Red Raiders helped Texas Tech defeat Georgia Southern 103-79 Tuesday night at the United Spirit Arena.

Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) was the Eagles' leading scorer for the second straight game, scoring a season-high 21 points with five assists, that ties a team best for the season. Cameron Baskerville's (Marietta, Ga.) game-high 13 rebounds was a season high for Georgia Southern and a career high for the sophomore forward. Texas Tech's David Tairu was the leading scorer on the night with 22 points while Robert Lewandowski led the Red Raiders with eight rebounds.

Georgia Southern trailed the Red Raiders 49-38 at halftime. The Eagles cut the lead to 10 on three separate occasions over a 1:08 period thanks to a made free throw by Baskerville and two layups by Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.). Two field goals by Lewandowski and a shot made by Tairu would bring the lead up to 16 with 16:07 to play in the game.

Tré Bussey's (Lithia Springs, Ga.) three-pointer, a layup by Spencer and a jumper by Jelani Hewitt (Oakland Park, Fla.) would answer Texas Tech's baskets to keep it a 16-point, 66-50 game with 11:44 left in the contest. An 18-10 run by the Red Raiders, sparked by four three pointers extended Texas Tech's lead to 84-60 with 5:58 remaining.

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Category: Men's Basketball

Published on Thursday, 25 November 2010 23:57