Upset Bid Falls Short at Wake Forest, 81-72
11/17/2011 3:44:00 AM | Men's Basketball
"Our goal was to see tremendous growth from game one to game two," said Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young. "We did a great job of out-rebounding them and out-shooting Wake Forest tonight. I'm excited to get these guys back to Statesboro for Friday's game against Webber International."
Ferguson matched a career high with four blocks in the game while Hewitt was 5-of-7 from downtown in the game to set a new career high. Junior Cameron Baskerville (Marietta, Ga.) led the Eagles with seven of Georgia Southern's 35 blocks en route to an Eagle win on the rebounding glass, 35-30. Georgia Southern also out-shot Wake Forest 48.1% to 42.9% from the field and from beyond the arc at a 36.8% clip.
Georgia Southern's senior duo of Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) and Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) both reached double-figures with 12 points from Powers and 12 from Drayton. Powers grabbed six rebounds and made seven assists on the night. Drayton had a balanced night with five rebounds, five assists and four rebounds.
The Eagles trailed 34-23 at the halftime break and stayed within reach of the Deacs throughout the second half. Georgia Southern made major strides on consecutive 3-pointers by Hewitt with just 9:21 remaining in the second half. The buckets cut the lead to 50-45.
Wake Forest, however, responded with a run of six points on one trip up the floor thanks to an intentional foul by Baskerville just inside eight minutes. The Eagles would cut the lead to seven points with 3:41 remaining, but that would be as close as the Eagles would get on the night.
The Eagles were tagged for 22 turnovers on the night which became 29 Wake Forest points. Georgia Southern, however, met its goal of taking five charges in the game, challenging the Wake Forest offense.
Following the return trip to Statesboro, Georgia Southern gets just a day's rest before returning to the hardwood against Webber International at Hanner Fieldhouse. The Eagles face their NAIA foe starting at 7 p.m.
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