Five Score in Double Figures, Men's Basketball Coasts Past App State
12/1/2007 5:17:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Senior Louis Graham (West Palm Beach, Fla.) led a quintet of players in double-figures to lead the Georgia Southern men's basketball team to an 85-72 victory over Appalachian State Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The win is GSU's sixth straight overall and its 6-1 record is the program's best start since 1991-92. The Eagles also improve to 2-0 in the Southern Conference. App State drops to 3-5, 0-2.
Graham recorded game-high totals of 21 points and nine rebounds. Senior Dwayne Foreman (Apopka, Fla.) added 16, followed by seniors Matthew Fields (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Anthony Marshall (Lake Worth, Fla.) with 11 apiece. Freshman Willie Powers (Gainesville, Fla.) rounded out the group with 10.
“I think the best thing about our team right now is that we've got different people stepping up and that's a good sign,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “I thought Matt Fields and Anthony Marshall were the difference in the game today. I think those two people made a huge difference in the basketball game. [They] made a few shots and Matt was all over the floor. It's good to see Powers and some other guys step up.”
Fourteen of Foreman's total came in the second half. He shot 4-of-6 from behind the arc and had four assists.
For the Mountaineers, Donte Minter totaled 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Donald Sims came off the bench to pour in 12 points.
Georgia Southern put the game out of reach early. Down 14-13, the Eagles went on a 22-5 run over a 7:38 stretch, sparked by two Marshall 3-pointers. Eight different players contributed baskets during that time.
“For the most part I thought we were pretty balanced both inside and out,” said Price. “We pushed the ball really well and we defended well.”
While Foreman caught fire after halftime, Marshall did his damage in the opening frame. All 11 of his points were in the first 20 minutes.
App State managed to cut the deficit to 11 twice in the first few minutes of the second period, but an 8-0 rally by GSU, including back-to-back 3's from Foreman and Powers gave the Eagles an insurmountable 19-point edge.
“We kept attacking pretty good,” said Price. “As a coach, when you're up 17, you want to keep going up and up, but you understand you're not going to win conference games by 40 points and people aren't going to quit. And App didn't quit. They keep fighting back and every time they fought back, we had an answer.”
The victory snaps a four-game losing streak to ASU. The Mountaineers had also excelled in Statesboro, winning four of the last five in Hanner.
“They beat us four straight times,” said Price. “App was the one team in the league that since I've been here, we've struggled with. It was good to see our guys come out and answer well today.”
Georgia Southern will take eight days off before returning to the court Dec. 10 to host Fort Valley State.
The win is GSU's sixth straight overall and its 6-1 record is the program's best start since 1991-92. The Eagles also improve to 2-0 in the Southern Conference. App State drops to 3-5, 0-2.
Graham recorded game-high totals of 21 points and nine rebounds. Senior Dwayne Foreman (Apopka, Fla.) added 16, followed by seniors Matthew Fields (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Anthony Marshall (Lake Worth, Fla.) with 11 apiece. Freshman Willie Powers (Gainesville, Fla.) rounded out the group with 10.
“I think the best thing about our team right now is that we've got different people stepping up and that's a good sign,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “I thought Matt Fields and Anthony Marshall were the difference in the game today. I think those two people made a huge difference in the basketball game. [They] made a few shots and Matt was all over the floor. It's good to see Powers and some other guys step up.”
Fourteen of Foreman's total came in the second half. He shot 4-of-6 from behind the arc and had four assists.
For the Mountaineers, Donte Minter totaled 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Donald Sims came off the bench to pour in 12 points.
Georgia Southern put the game out of reach early. Down 14-13, the Eagles went on a 22-5 run over a 7:38 stretch, sparked by two Marshall 3-pointers. Eight different players contributed baskets during that time.
“For the most part I thought we were pretty balanced both inside and out,” said Price. “We pushed the ball really well and we defended well.”
While Foreman caught fire after halftime, Marshall did his damage in the opening frame. All 11 of his points were in the first 20 minutes.
App State managed to cut the deficit to 11 twice in the first few minutes of the second period, but an 8-0 rally by GSU, including back-to-back 3's from Foreman and Powers gave the Eagles an insurmountable 19-point edge.
“We kept attacking pretty good,” said Price. “As a coach, when you're up 17, you want to keep going up and up, but you understand you're not going to win conference games by 40 points and people aren't going to quit. And App didn't quit. They keep fighting back and every time they fought back, we had an answer.”
The victory snaps a four-game losing streak to ASU. The Mountaineers had also excelled in Statesboro, winning four of the last five in Hanner.
“They beat us four straight times,” said Price. “App was the one team in the league that since I've been here, we've struggled with. It was good to see our guys come out and answer well today.”
Georgia Southern will take eight days off before returning to the court Dec. 10 to host Fort Valley State.
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