Eagles Face Samford On SportSouth
2/4/2011 11:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Men's Basketball returns home, playing host to Samford on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. The 6th annual Pack the House in Pink Day will see the Eagles take on Samford on SportSouth. The Georgia Southern Radio Network will have live coverage on 102.9 FM and GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision starting at 12:30 p.m.
The Eagles, (4-20, 0-11 SoCon) have earned respect within the league, going toe-to-toe with the three best teams in the league over the last week. Georgia Southern is led by junior Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) who is averaging 15.8 points per game. On Thursday night, Drayton posted 24 points at Chattanooga as he reached the 1,000-point career scoring milestone. Freshman of the Year Candidate Eric Ferguson (Statesboro, Ga.) leads all SoCon freshmen in scoring with 13.2 points per game.
The Eagles have had complete control of the all-time series with a 32-15 advantage including a 83-77 win last season in Birmingham. The Eagles have won 13 of the last 16 meetings dating back to the 1986-87 season.
Samford (11-12, 3-8 SoCon) is at the foot of the SoCon North Division standings after losing its last two games against UNC Greensboro (91-72) and Davidson (62-49), both at home. Samford shot a season-low .118 (2-of-17) from downtown on Thursday against Davidson after averaging 9.4 three-pointers per game.
Head coach Charlton "C.Y." Young leads the Eagles in his second year in charge of his alma mater's program. Young led Georgia Southern to its last NCAA Tournament appearance and with 1,517 career points ranks 11th on the all-time Georgia Southern scoring list.
Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette is in his 14th year with the Bulldogs with an overall record of 217-193.
GSU will take to the road for the regular season's final road swing with two games against Furman (Feb. 10) and Wofford (Feb. 12). The Eagles will then visit Davidson on Feb. 16.
Fans may follow Georgia Southern Men's Basketball by visiting GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/basketball or check in at twitter.com/GSAthletics or facebook.com/GSAthletics for short updates. Live stats and video are available at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com.
