BY THE NUMBERS -- Men's Basketball
2/23/2012 9:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - "By the Numbers" spotlights a Georgia Southern Athletics team with statistics, rankings and other interesting items of note during our Eagles' seasons. The Eagle Men's Basketball team puts its six-game win-streak on the line tonight at Charleston for an 8 p.m. contest on ESPN3.com.
The final home game of the 2011-2012 season is Saturday night against Davidson. The Eagles will pay tribute to their two seniors, Ben Drayton III and Willie Powers III prior to the 7 p.m. tipoff.
3: Three box scores this season show five Eagle players scoring in double figures, most recently Ben Drayton III (19), Jelani Hewitt (12), Eric Ferguson (10), Jessie Pernell (10) and Willie Powers III (10) in the win over UNCG. Georgia Southern is 3-0 in those games.
6: The six-game win streak in the SoCon is currently the longest among its members and matches Georgia Southern's second-longest skein all-time in the conference (2005-2006 season).
10: The Eagles' notched their 10th straight win at home last Saturday when they defeated UNCG at historic Hanner Fieldhouse. Georgia Southern's final home game is Saturday against Davidson at 7 p.m. The Men's Basketball program will honor its two seniors Ben Drayton III and Willie Powers III in a pre-game ceremony.
12: Georgia Southern has posted 12 league wins, its most ever as a member of the Southern Conference, and an increase of 11 over last season's 1-17 mark. The turnaround is tied for the second-best improvement in the history of the SoCon.
19: Southern Conference Player of the Year candidate Eric Ferguson ranks 19th nationally in field goal percentage (57.1) and his name is all over the SoCon statistical rankings - appearing in the top 10 of seven categories.
47.4: Georgia Southern currently ranks 1st in SoCon field goal percentage and ranks in the top 40 nationally by making 47.4 percent of its shots from the field. The Eagles have been above their average in 7 of their last 9 games and have shot over the 50 percent mark 9 times this season.
.500: With a 73-72 overtime win at The Citadel, the Eagles guaranteed its first .500 season under Georgia Southern alum Charlton "C.Y." Young. Named head coach of the Eagles in April 2009, Young is in his third year of rebuilding the program.
144: With 144 assists this season, senior point guard Willie Powers III is just a few shy of cracking the Georgia Southern single-season top 10 list and stands fourth on the GSU career list. Averaging 5.5 per game this season, Powers is 39th on the NCAA national chart for assists.
166: Number of career steals for senior guard Ben Drayton III, who recently surpassed Eagle Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young's career total of 162. Drayton also ranks in the top 10 for career assists with 370.
736: Eagle freshmen Jessie Pernell, Tyrone Brown and Kameron Dunnican have contributed 736 minutes coming off of the bench for Georgia Southern.
