Eagles Lose on Road at Elon
2/26/2009 5:26:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ELON, N.C. ? True-freshman Ben Drayton III (St. Marys/Camden County) turned in career-highs of 26 points and nine rebounds, but Georgia Southern could not overcome a first half deficit in a 75-61 loss at Elon Thursday night (Feb. 26). The Eagles dropped to 8-19 overall and 5-13 in the SoCon.
The 26 points also equal Willie Powers and Antonio Hanson (Fort Worth, TX/Independence CC) for the team season-high total. Drayton scored nine of the team's last 12 points and scored 20 or more for the fourth time this year.
The Eagles scored on their first two possessions of the game, Drayton and Sandy Perry (Perth Amboy, N.J./Barton County CC) hit baskets, the last coming at 18:30. However, the Eagles went cold, not scoring for six minutes. Elon went on an 11-0 run (17-3 run overall), but didn't score for three minutes during that stretch as well.
Hanson broke the six and a half minute drought with a jumper. In fact, the Eagles cut it to a four-point game (23-19) with five minutes remaining thanks to a 15-footer and dunk by Perry. Drew Spradlin hit a 3-pointer on the next trip down the court and the Phoenix would eventually push their lead back to 11 at halftime, 36-25.
“This is the second time against Elon we shot the ball really poorly. I thought we had some good looks at the basket and didn't make the shots. For us to have a chance to win in the situation we're in right now everybody has to have a good game,” said head coach Jeff Price. “We can't have guys normally play well not playing well. We have to have everyone on the same page.”
Elon (10-17, 7-11) shot 43.3 percent compared to the Eagles' 35.7. Elon hit two more 3s than GS and went 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
The home team came out and went on an 8-2 run, eventually leading by 21 midway through the second half. Drayton went on a 7-0 run by himself during the next 90 seconds, making it a 56-43 game with 7:48 remaining, but the Eagles could not cut the deficit to single-digits.
Five of Drayton's nine boards came on the offensive end and he dished out five assists to three turnovers and two steals in 39 minutes of action.
“He's going to be a special player. He's showing a lot of heart and grit as a true-freshman. We have other guys have great games on the same night for us to have a chance,” said Price.
Perry added 11 points while freshman Colby Wohlleb (Boca Raton, FL/Boca Raton) chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Spradlin led the Phoenix with 17 points. Devan Carter added 16 points and Ola Atoyebi chipped in 10 off the bench.
Georgia Southern actually out-rebounded Elon 37-33, including a 14-7 edge on the offensive end. However, the Phoenix finished the game shooting 49 percent (56.5 in the second half).
The Eagles next play at Davidson on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 28), tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m.
“We need to keep our head up and keep fighting. That's all we can do right now, we need to see improvement in our team. That's all you can ask for going to the tournament is to see your team play better,” said Price.
