Eagles Close out Homestand with Loss
1/6/2011 6:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Western Carolina shot 56.3 percent from the field and 50.0 percent behind the arc to build a 20-point halftime lead it maintained in the second half for a 81-58 win over Georgia Southern. The Catamounts' Trey Sumler led all scorers with 23 points, while Eagles' freshman forward Marvin Baynham (Miami, Ga.) finished the contest with a game-high eight rebounds. Freshman guard Eric Ferguson (Statesboro, Ga.) recorded a team-high 21 points for Georgia Southern.
Georgia Southern stayed within three points of Western Carolina to start the game and took its only lead after five minutes in the first half. Baskets by Ben Drayton III (St.Marys, Ga.) kept the Eagles in a two-possession game, but then the Catamounts went on a 16-5 run over the next six and a half minutes for a 23-13 lead. A trey by Tré Bussey (Lithia Springs, Ga.) ended the drought for the Eagles. Free throws by Ferguson and Drayton weren't able to offset seven field goals and two treys by WCU.
Ferguson had nine points in the last 5:20, including a jumper with 40 seconds left in the half. A last-second field goal by the Catamounts matched his basket and gave Western Carolina a 48-28 advantage going into the locker room. Western Carolina capitalized on 13 GSU turnovers in the first period and converted them into 21 points. Georgia Southern cut the lead to start the second period, but the Catamounts maintained their double-digit lead with 54.2 percent shooting.
Georgia Southern returns to action on Saturday, January 8th, as it travels to Appalachian State for a 2 p.m. tipoff. The Eagles return to Statesboro for a two-game homestand beginning with Wofford (Jan. 12) and then Furman (Jan. 15).
The January 12th game against Wofford has been designated as Junior Eagle Club Day. All Junior Eagle Club members receive free admission and are invited to a special pizza party when they present their Junior Eagle Club membership card at the entrance.
Follow the Eagle teams 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.
