Men's Basketball Heads to N.C. State for Saturday Contest
12/11/2009 2:02:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - After two conference games last week, Georgia Southern heads back into the non-conference portion of its schedule for the rest of the month of December. The Eagles head to N.C. State for a 2 p.m. game at Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday, December 12. Both head coaches, Charlton "C.Y." Young and Sidney Lowe played point guard for their respective teams, with Young playing point guard for the Eagles from 1989-1993, and Lowe for the Wolfpack from 1979-83 as it made its Cinderella run to the 1983 national championship.
The two teams have only met twice before, the last time in 1977 and the first in 1972 with the Wolfpack winning both games.
The Eagles return to competition after the week of finals and look for their first win on the road. Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) has led Georgia Southern in scoring three straight games, the first time any Eagle has topped the scoring list in three straight games since Louis Graham strung together 12 straight games through the 2007-08 season. Drayton is third among the top scorers with a 11.1 points per game average. Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) tops the list at 14.4 and Antonio Hanson (Fort Worth, Texas) follows at 13.1 points per contest. With his next three-point basket, Hanson will tie Todd Shipley for 10th on the Eagles' career list for career three-pointers made with 114.
Georgia Southern will get more help on the boards this weekend as Cameron Baskerville returned after missing three games with a muscle strain. Baskerville is averaging 7.0 rebounds and had two in only eight minutes of play at The Citadel. Tyler Troupe (Gallatin, Tenn.) had nine boards vs. The Citadel with Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) leading the Eagles in the two previous games. Spencer is second on the team with 5.6 rpg with Johntavious Rucker (Decatur, Ga.) at 5.4 rpg.
"Our challenge is to be consistent," said Eagles Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young. "This stretch of games in front of us begins with our first game after finals - facing a team of high caliber like N.C. State from the best basketball conference in the country, the ACC. This game provides us with another opportunity to develop the best game plan for our team -- both immediately and over the long run. These games prepare our team to face top competition and we will reap the benefits of these experiences."
N.C. State is 6-1 and was also off this week, coming back from an 11-point halftime deficit and shooting 71 percent in the second half to steal a win last Saturday at Marquette (77-73). The Wolfpack, averaging 65.7 points per game, scored the most points of the season against the Golden Eagles. The Wolfpack reeled off five straight wins to open the season before losing to Northwestern in the first game December. N.C. State has had consistency it its lineup, with the same starting five in the first seven games. Tracy Smith (17.6), Dennis Horner (13.7) and Javier Gonzalez (10.4) stand one-two-three with double figures in scoring. Smith also tops all rebounders with a 10.0 per game average.
Saturday's game can be heard live on WPMX 102.9 FM locally and on www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com globally. The pre-game show with Chris Blair begins one half hour before the 2 p.m. tipoff.
