Eagles Begin Four-Game Road Trek
12/17/2009 4:08:00 AM | Men's Basketball
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Georgia Southern men's basketball team went through a light walk-through at Roberts Stadium this afternoon after they arrived in Evansville, preparing for Thursday night's (December 17) game vs. the Purple Aces. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. Eastern time. The game against Evansville begins another stretch of road games for the Eagles (3-8) as they are looking for their first victory away from Hanner Fieldhouse this season. Evansville holds 2-0 series advantage, winning a Nov. 29, 2000 contest, 79-72, and a Dec. 16, 1983 game in the Executive Inn Invitational, 98-82. Both games were at Roberts Stadium.
The head coaches for both teams played for their respective alma maters, with Marty Simmons and Charlton "C.Y." Young regarded among the best players in program history. Simmons is in his third year at Evansville after taking the Aces to a postseason tournament in his second season. Charlton "C.Y." Young is in his first year as the head coach of the Eagles.
Evansville (4-3) has been off for eight days, playing last at Western Kentucky where the Hilltoppers snapped the Aces' two-game win streak. The Aces enjoyed a nine-point lead at the half, but were outscored 35-20 in the second period and lost, 63-57. Freshman Colt Ryan, who leads Evansville with 15.9 points per game, was the only Ace in double figures with 23 while sophomore forwards James Haarsma and Bryan Bouchie had six boards to share the team lead. Junior guard Kavon Lacey had seven assists and six points vs. the Hilltoppers.
Lacey, however, will not be available in the starting lineup as he underwent knee surgery on Tuesday, leaving the position up for grabs among three freshmen: Ned Cox, Troy Taylor and Lewis Jones. Georgia Southern will keep their consistent backcourt with junior point guard and Eagles leading scorer Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) and senior shooting guard Antonio Hanson (Fort Worth, Texas). Freshman Cameron Baskerville (Marietta, Ga.) will return to the starting five after missing three games with a muscle strain and playing off the bench in the last three games. Baskerville is the top rebounder for Georgia Southern with 5.6 per game.
"We are back on the road and while we have to concentrate on getting ourselves better each and every game, we have to put our focus on all the things Evansville does well," said Young. "They are a very disciplined team and what our team has experienced and learned from our games earlier this month should help us."
Georgia Southern played its only game of the month of December in Hanner Fieldhouse, suffering a 69-58 loss to Coastal Carolina Tuesday night. Powers had his eighth straight game with double figures in scoring with 19 to lead the Eagles. Colby Wohlleb (Boca Raton, Fla.) had 11 points off the bench, hitting 4-5 from the field, including a perfect 3-3 from three-point land. Johntavious Rucker (Decatur, Ga.) had six boards to lead the team in rebounding for the third time this year.
The Voice of the Eagles Chris Blair will be calling all the action from Roberts Stadium with the 30-minute pre-game show beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. All Georgia Southern men's basketball game broadcasts are available on WPMX 102.9 FM locally or globally on www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
