Eagles Open 2011-12 Season Against Valpo
11/10/2011 5:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Men's Basketball kicks off the 2011-12 season on Friday night by welcoming Horizon League foe Valparaiso to Hanner Fieldhouse on opening night. It will be a big night inside the venerable building as the Lady Eagles open the night at 5 p.m. against Arizona before the Men's team takes to the hardwood at 7:30 p.m. against the Crusaders. Both games can be seen for the price of one ticket by contacting the Georgia Southern Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-GSU-WINS or online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/tickets.
"If you are a basketball enthusiast whether it be the men's or women's game it just does not matter. You got two named schools coming in here its just pretty incredible. I have been here 22 years and we have never had a night like this to kick off your year in Hanner Fieldhouse. What a great venue for the community to come out and watch some basketball," said Georgia Southern Women's Basketball Head Coach Rusty Cram.
Georgia Southern has a winning tradition in the home opener over the last 30 years. Georgia Southern hasn't lost its first home game of the season since the 1980-81 season when the Eagles opened the year with a loss to Austin Peay, 88-87 in overtime.
Senior Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) returns for his senior season after missing the 2010-11 season due to injury. He sits on 998 career points and will become the 38th member of the 1,000 point club at Georgia Southern with his first basket in the game.
Fellow senior Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) has 1,139 career points to lead all active Southern Conference players in career scoring. Last season, Drayton carried the load for the Eagles scoring 15.8 points per game while playing 37.0 minutes per game.
Georgia Southern garnered a certain amount of respect from the Southern Conference Coaches and Media in the league's preseason polls. The coaches picked the Eagles third in the south division behind Davidson and College of Charleston. The third place selection placed the Eagles above Furman and two-time defending league champion Wofford which lost seven seniors from last year's squad. The league's media voted Georgia Southern fifth in the south division, but the Eagles received one first place vote.
Valparaiso opened the 2011-12 season on the road against No. 16 Arizona on Monday night in the opening round of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. The Crusaders trailed by two points at halftime and were led by Ryan Broekhoff and Kevin Van Wijk with 18 points. Valpo shot .404 from the field and .250 from beyond the arc. Van Wijk was 8-of-13 from the stripe while Broekhoff was 3-of-9 from three-point land
The Eagles travel next week for a midweek game at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C. The game can be seen on SportSouth and a number of other regional sports networks, check your local listings for the exact channel. The game from the Lawrence Joel Coliseum starts at 7 p.m. Georgia Southern is back at home in one week's time against Webber International on Friday, November 18th, at 7 p.m.
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