Eagles' Journey for SoCon Title Begins Against Appalachian State Friday

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Georgia Southern Men's Basketball Team opens the 2011 Southern Conference Tournament in the first round against Appalachian State on Friday, March 4th, at approximately 4:30 p.m. Friday's game is the 38th all-time meeting between the Mountaineers and Eagles. The Mountaineers took a 79-51 win in the only contest between the two teams earlier this season and lead the all-time series 21-16 and 4-1 in SoCon Tournament play.

"Voice of the Eagles" Chris Blair and the Georgia Southern Radio Network will have live coverage on 102.9 FM and GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision starting at 4 p.m. Matt Yogus provides color analysis for the broadcast.

Junior Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) picked up third-team All-SoCon honors and leads the Eagles in scoring with 15.7 points per game. The combo guard reached double figures in all but two games this season and ranks seventh in the league in scoring.  His 1.9 steals-per-game average is second best in the SoCon. Drayton

All-Freshman team honors were bestowed upon Eric Ferguson (Statesboro, Ga.) by the SoCon Media Association Wednesday. The guard leads all SoCon freshmen with 12.3 points per game this year and is second on the Georgia Southern freshmen scoring chart with 468 points.

Charlton "C.Y." Young leads the Eagles in his second year in charge of his alma mater's program. Young led Georgia Southern to its last NCAA Tournament appearance and his 1,517-career point total ranks 11th on the all-time Georgia Southern scoring list.

The 15-14 Mountaineers are coached by Jason Capel, a 2002 North Carolina graduate in his first season on the Mountain. Appalachian State enters the championships on a four-game win stream and winners of seven of its last eight games. Guards Omar Carter and Donald Sims earned All-Conference accolades as Carter averaged 16.5 points per game and shot .425 from downtown. Sims scores at a 21.3 points-per-game clip and led the Mountaineers in scoring 15 times this season, sharing high-scorer honors in two other games.

Fans may follow Georgia Southern Men's Basketball by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/basketball or check in at twitter.com/GSAthletics or facebook.com/GSAthletics for short updates.

Category: Men's Basketball

Published on Thursday, 03 March 2011 16:44