Men's Hoops Opens at Hanner Tonight
11/15/2010 8:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Men's Basketball team plays host to Carver College Monday, November 15th at Hanner Fieldhouse in the home opener for the 2010-2011 season. The Eagles have a 26-game win streak in home openers and are 33-3 overall in home openers dating back to 1980.
THE SERIES:
This is the first meeting between Carver College and Georgia Southern. Carver College is the second of three opponents on the Eagles' schedule for the first time. Georgia Southern opened the year at Notre Dame last Friday and will meet Chicago State in the South Padre Invitational over Thanksgiving weekend.
SCHEDULE LIKE A ROCK STAR:
Not too different than the schedule for C.Y.'s first year, Georgia Southern is starting fast out of the gate - playing four games in 10 days. The Eagles returned home after the single game at Notre Dame. will play tonight's home opener, then welcome Reinhardt on Thursday night. A trip to Tampa and a contest against the South Florida Bulls on Sunday, November 21st ends the week before the Eagles trek to Texas.
BEEN A WHILE:
While the Eagles have three first-time opponents on the schedule, there are a few who haven't been around in a while. Former TAAC rival Georgia State will return to Hanner Fieldhouse for the first time since 1996 on December 22. Both South Alabama (Dec. 18) and Eastern Kentucky (January 2) are making their first trips to Statesboro since the 1980s.
RUCKER TO MISS FIRST MONTH:
Senior guard Johntavious Rucker will miss the first month of the 2010-2011 season as he regains academic eligibility. He is expected to return as early as the Dec. 11 Georgia Southern-Brewton-Parker game. The native of Decatur, Ga., is allowed to practice with the team, but will not travel as a team member to road games. Rucker played in all 32 games last year and started 21, averaging 4.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
THE COACHES:
Eagles Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young, named after actor Charlton Heston, is a 1994 graduate of "THE" Georgia Southern University who started at point guard for the Eagles from 1989-1993. Introduced on April 9, 2009 as the new "CEO" of the Georgia Southern Men's Basketball program, Young guides a program on the rise.
As a player, Young was named the Trans American Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player for his performances in three Eagle victories in the 1992 TAAC tournament and he capped the championship victory over Georgia State with 20 points and eight assists, leading the Eagles to the NCAA Tournament.
A three-time All-Conference selection at point guard in two different leagues (Trans America Athletic: 1990-91, 1991-92; Southern: 1992-93), Young earned All-Tournament Team honors in both the TAAC and SoCon and still stands in the 'Top 10' in numerous Georgia Southern statistical categories.
Martin Carter, Sr., begins his 13th season as athletic director and head men's basketball coach for Carver College. His Cougar squad returns six players from last year and a freshman class with promising talent.
CARVER COUGARS:
The Cougars have two games under their belt, with a losses to Xavier (La.), 83-64, and Loyola, (La.), 97-69. Sophomore G/F Nicholas Hood is averaging 12 points a game with a season-best 17 against Xavier, tying for the game-high total. Hood led three Cougars in double figures in that game with freshmen Demetrius Baldwin scoring 16 and Bernard Parks adding 10. Parks and junior Marcus Fulks each pulled down seven rebounds.
Four Cougars scored in double figures against Loyola, (La.), but it wasn't enough as six members of the Wolfpack recorded double digits. For Carver, freshman guard Sean Stringfellow led the way with 14 points which included three three-point field goals. Fulks had 12 with Parks contributing 11 and Baldwin 10.
BIG FIRST FOR FERGUSON:
Guard Eric Ferguson's debut Friday night produced 26 points, the most points by a freshman in a first game in Georgia Southern NCAA Division I history. The Statesboro, Ga., native went 6-11 from the field and 14-16 from the free throw line for his 26 total. Ferguson is tied for 21st nationally in scoring average and shares the spotlight with Wake Forest's J.T. Terrell as the two highest-scoring freshmen in the country.
LAST GAME:
Notre Dame shot 86 percent hitting 12 of its first 14 shots to establish a comfortable lead en route to a 98-61 win over Georgia Southern at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center Friday night. Eagle freshman Eric Ferguson (Statesboro, Ga.) led all scorers with 26 points in his collegiate debut. Senior forward Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) had 18 points and tied Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott for the game-high with seven rebounds. Ben Hansbrough had 20 points for the Irish.
Georgia Southern kept clawing back in the second half and outscored Notre Dame in the period 38-36, but poor shooting, foul trouble and turnovers in the first half sealed the outcome. Ferguson hit 15 of his total points in the second half, connecting on 4-6 from the floor and adding another seven points from the free throw line.
The Irish built a double-digit lead early in the first half and forced Georgia Southern into 21 percent shooting from the field. Notre Dame cooled off to 60.6 percent shooting for the first half and shot 37 percent after the intermission. The Eagles settled down in the second half, committing only five turnovers and were more patient with their shot selection. The shooting percentage improved to 44 percent in the second half and Georgia Southern took advantage of its trips to the free throw line, converting on 73.7 percent for 14 points.
Chipping away at the lead, Spencer and Ferguson scored baskets coming out of the half before a scoring drought set the Eagles back again. Freshman guard Jelanie Hewitt (Oakland Park, Fla.) hit a three to break the dry spell, but Notre Dame then went on a 9-2 run to add to its point total. Georgia Southern responded with an 8-2 run, and played evenly the rest of the game.
PROMOTIONS:
The first 200 fans to arrive at Hanner for the game will receive a free 2010-2011 Men's Basketball poster courtesy of Verizon Wireless. Those first 200, plus the next 300 in attendance will receive promotional coupons from Chick-fil-A and McDonald's of Statesboro. New this year to the lineup is the "Golden Opportunity," presented by Car City and Pawn City. A chance to win $500 is on the line when a fan has the opportunity to shoot a half court shot to win $500.
TICKETS:
Single-game tickets are available at the ticket windows at Hanner Fieldhouse one hour prior to tip-off and are $8 for adults and $4 for youth. Fans may also purchase a flex plan - five tickets for $25 - which allows tickets to be used for either men's or women's games. Fans may use all five tickets at one game or split them between games.
FOLLOW THE EAGLES:
Follow the Eagles on GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com or get short updates on facebook.com/GSAthletics or twitter.com/GSAthletics. For in-game scoring, visit twitter.com/GSScores or follow live stats by clicking on the "live stats" link in the schedule section at the bottom of the athletics website www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
