Men's Basketball Looks to Continue Win Streak Saturday vs. App State
11/30/2007 5:14:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- The Eagles try to continue their five-game winning streak against SoCon foe Appalachian State Saturday in a game televised on Fox SportSouth. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
Saturday's tilt is sponsored by Domino's Pizza. The first 200 fans through the door for both men's and women's games will receive a free slice of pizza.
Georgia Southern claimed its 27th straight home-opening win Monday against Mercer, scoring a season-high 80 points. The team shot 10-of-20 from behind the arc, their highest 3-point total since January.
“It's a sign of things to come if we keep shooting the ball well,” said head coach Jeff Price. “We were able to shoot the ball well from the 3-point line and I thought we attacked really well in the second half.”
The win was also Price's 21st straight non-conference home victory, a streak that dates back to 2002.
Leading the offensive was freshman Willie Powers who poured in a career-high 26 points and seven rebounds. He scored 25 of those points in the first 24 minutes of the contest and set a new personal best in the first half with 17 points. He finished the night shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
Appalachian State, a team that won the SoCon North division and received an at-large bid to the NIT, returns just two starters from last year's squad.
“They were very good last year,” said Price. “Anytime you lose a D.J. Thompson or a (Demetrius) Scott ... some of the players they lost were experienced seniors. It's hard to make up for that type of experience. They have a very dangerous team and a very good team but obviously they've lost some key ingredients from one of the best teams they've had.”
The Mountaineers have lost two straight coming into Saturday, both at home, losing 71-60 to Davidson and 62-53 to Wichita State.
App State boasts one of the biggest teams in the SoCon with six players standing 6-7 or taller. Four of those players are seniors, including Donte Minter, who averages 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
“They're very big up front,” said Price. “They have big bodies (and) Minter is one of the league's best post players. They're athletic and they have a good blend up front with athletes and big bodies that can bang and score, and they shoot the ball well from the perimeter.”
Minter is second on the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks (10).
“I think you have to focus on Minter because they try to go inside to him so much,” said Price. “He can score down there. He's a really, really good interior player. Kellen Brand is a kid that can really shoot it from the perimeter. They have a lot of different weapons but those two guys in particular are people they look at.”
Brand, the team's top scorer at 12.6 ppg, was held scoreless Thursday, missing all seven shots from the floor and four from 3-point land.
“He just didn't shoot the ball well,” said Price. “Usually when a good shooter doesn't shoot well, the next night he does. So that concerns me more than (the fact that) he missed a bunch of shots (Thursday).”
