Eagles Down Voorhees, 97-66, in First Exhibition Game
10/28/2011 1:56:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young characterized it as a good night as Georgia Southern took a 97-66 win over Voorhees College on Thursday night (October 27th) at Hanner Fieldhouse. The game was the Eagles first tune-up game prior to the 2011-12 season opener on November 11th against Valparaiso.
Senior Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) led the Georgia Southern offense with 21 points and nine steals on the night. He was 2-of-9 from beyond the arc and made 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the game. The Eagles as a team shot 46% from the field and 34% from downtown with nine three-pointers.
"Overall it was a good night," said Young in a talk with Eagle Vision. "We take a lot of positives out of tonight's game, but we've still got a lot of things to work on. I liked being able to have Willie Powers and Ben Drayton out there on the floor together, but I really think we need to work on our defense. We've got a lot of film to look at as we prepare for our next exhibition game next week."
Senior Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) made his return to the Eagle lineup after missing the 2010-11 season due to injury. He scored eight points with a team-high seven assists in the game. Sophomore Eric Ferguson (Statesboro, Ga.) had 19 points to rank second on the team in scoring and posted a pair of thrilling moments for the Hanner faithful. He also scored eight rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double in the exhibition contest.
The Eagle offense took advantage of 24 Voorhees turnovers to the tune of 31 points with 17 steals in the contest. Georgia Southern knocked down clutch shots from the bonusphere, including three by Tré Bussey (Lithia Springs, Ga.).
Sophomore Jelani Hewitt (Oakland Park, Fla.) had 15 points, while freshman Kameron Dunnican (Sumter, S.C.) announced his presence with authority, pulling nine rebounds in 15 minutes of play.
The Eagle defense allowed 66 total points from the Tigers, who shot 43% on the night and 44% from downtown. Voorhees made 8-of-18 from beyond the arc and was 25-of-55 from all spots on the court.
Georgia Southern's final exhibition game is on Friday night, November 4th, against Paine College. The opening game of Homecoming Weekend starts at 7 p.m. inside Hanner Fieldhouse.
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