Wildcats and Eagles Tangle on TV Saturday
1/23/2010 2:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - After defeating the top two teams in the North Division of the Southern Conference, Georgia Southern (5-15, 2-5) plays host to Davidson (8-11, 3-4) a Hanner Fieldhouse for a SoCon Saturday game on SportSouth.
THE PROMOTIONS:
Like a moth to the flame, college students are attracted to free food and prizes and today's Hanner Hooligan tailgate offers the free food while the game provides the fun and prizes. Everyone is invited to join the eighth annual tailgate in the Hanner Fieldhouse parking lot with festivities beginning at 11 a.m. Free food will be provided by Domino's and McDonald's with additional support provided by GSU's Office of Alumi Relations. The Verizon V team will hand out promotional items and one lucky student will have the opportunity to win a Motorola Droid in a halftime contest.
THE COACHES:
Davidson head coach Bob McKillop started his collegiate coaching career at Davidson 20 years ago and has brought the Wildcats to unprecedented levels of success. In 2008, Davidson competed in the NCAA Regionals with two-time All-American and Southern Conference Player of the Year Stephen Curry. McKillop is the all-time winningest coach in Davidson and SoCon history.
During the 1992-93 season, both Georgia Southern and Davidson were newcomers to the SoCon. McKillop was in his third season with Davidson and senior point guard Charlton "C.Y" Young was finishing his career as an Eagle. In meetings between the schools that year, each team won at home and C.Y. was the game-high scorer. Now, Young, in his first year as head coach of Georgia Southern, and McKillop will face off as coaches on the sidelines.
THE SERIES:
Davidson has won five straight games and nine of the last 10 contests. The Wildcats own a 22-6 advantage in the series.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Freshmen Jake Cohen and J.P. Kuhlman are the top two scorers for the Wildcats, averaging 12.3 and 12.0 points, respectively. Kuhlman has achieved double figures in scoring in each of the last six games. Steve Rossiter, one of three Davidson players who has started all 19 games, is the top rebounder with 6.1 per game. Davidson has only put two different sets of starters on the floor this year.
Willie Powers III scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half against the Mountaineers Wednesday night with 11 coming in the final 6:13 of the game. Powers added three assists late to help lift Georgia Southern over Appalachian State. The Gainesville, Fla., native narrowly missed a triple double with nine assists and eight rebounds. Colby Wohlleb hit three three pointers in less than five minutes, quickly cutting the Appalachian State lead to six. Antonio Hanson led the Eagles in scoring for the third straight game with 21 off five three pointers.
CY SAYS:
"With the adversity we have faced this season, we are developing maturity and leadership on the court."
LAST GAMES:
Western Carolina hung on to beat Davidson 77-67 Wednesday night at Belk Arena despite the Wildcats' late surge. Down 24 points in the second half, Davidson used a 16-2 run early in the second period and then a 9-0 spree with less than six minutes left to cut the Cataount lead to four. Ben Allison came off the bench to score a career-best 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds. WCU hit 63 percent from the field in the first half while Davidson made only four baskets on 27 attempts for a field goal percentage of 14.8.
Georgia Southern erased a 13-point deficit as Willie Powers III scored 11 points and added three assists in the final 6:13 to pull out a 68-65 win over Appalachian State at Hanner Fieldhouse. After a slow shooting start in the second half, GSU hit 12 of 18 field goals in the final 10 minutes to catch the Mountaineers. Senior guard Antonio Hanson (Ft. Worth, Texas) led the Eagles for the third straight game, hitting five three pointers for a total of 21 points in the win over the Mountaineers. Powers had 20 points and was the fifth different high rebounder in the last five games with eight.
