Threes Rain and Reign in Hanner as Chattanooga Takes the Win
1/7/2010 3:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - The three-point basket reigned on Wednesday night (January 6) at Hanner Fieldhouse with 14 treys raining from the visiting Chattanooga Mocs leading to a 75-63 Southern Conference win. Ty Patterson and Josh Odem posted career highs with 25 and 22 points, respectively, for Chattanooga, with the Eagles' Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) tying for the game scoring lead with 25. Powers scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half, hitting 7-11 from the field with two three-pointers. Eagle Tyler Troupe (Gallatin, Tenn.) had a game- and season-high tying nine rebounds against his former school.
"As soon as we get a win, we'll get our confidence back," said Eagles Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young, who was the associate head coach at Chattanooga under Moc Head Coach John Shulman for the 2004-05 season. "Right now we are playing not to lose, not playing aggressively to win. Our confidence is shaken from the month of December, and only a win is going to get us out of this rut."
Georgia Southern outscored the Mocs 45-43 in the second half, but couldn't overcome the 14-point halftime lead or the Mocs' 60.9 field goal percentage from behind the three-point line. In addition to Powers, sophomore forward Colby Wohlleb (Boca Raton, Fla.) hit two three-point buckets and added two free throws for eight points in the second period. Sophomore Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) had his seven points in the first half.
Powers' 21 points was peppered throughout the second half with contributions from junior forward Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) with seven points and jumpers from Johntavious Rucker (Decatur, Ga.), Antonio Hanson (Ft. Worth, Texas) and Antoine Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.). Hanson had a career-best four steals.
The Eagles had a two-point lead at 11:38, 12-10, before Chattanooga reeled off 10 straight points to take a 20-12 lead at the 7:58 mark. Neither team scored a basket over the next three minutes, with Powers rebounding his own miss for a tip in, 20-14, Mocs, but then Patterson knocked down four three-point baskets, interrupted only by a jumper by Rucker and layup by Powers. The Mocs first-half momentum, powered by Patterson's five treys and 17 points, gave Chattanooga a 32-18 lead after the first 20 minutes. Georgia Southern shot 24.1 percent for the first half
"We created a lot of turnovers, but we just missed a lot of opportunities," said Powers.
The Eagles caused 27 turnovers, tying a season-best effort, but only scored 12 points off Moc miscues.
Georgia Southern will have another shot at a conference win on Saturday, January 9th, when the Eagles play host to Western Carolina in the second game of a doubleheader (3:30 p.m.). The Lady Eagles tip off at 1 p.m. against the College of Charleston. With the "Dollar Day" promotion, a ticket to attend both games is only one dollar. Tickets must be purchased on game day, Saturday, at the ticket windows at Hanner Fieldhouse. The tickets will go on sale at noon, one hour prior to the start of the Lady Eagles' game.
