Quest for SoCon Title Begins Against Chattanooga
3/1/2012 7:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Georgia Southern Men's Basketball opens the 2012 Southern Conference Basketball Tournament on Friday evening against Chattanooga at 8:30 p.m. The Eagles, No. 3 seed from the south division, enter the tournament tied with Wofford for the second best league record overall at 12-6. Chattanooga, the No. 6 seed out of the north division, enters Friday's contest with a 5-13 league mark and 11-20 overall.
Friday's game can be heard on the Georgia Southern Radio Network locally on The Boomer 103.7-FM and online at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com. Chris Blair will call the game with former head coach Frank Kerns providing expert analysis. The Southern Conference provides live video of the contest on SoConSports.com.
Sophomore Eric Ferguson (Statesboro, Ga.) earned consensus All Southern Conference honors from the league's coaches and media this week and enters the 2012 Tournament on a high, scoring 14.8 points per game with 7.1 rebounds per game.
Seniors Willie Powers III (Gainesville, Fla.) and Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) open their final trip to the SoCon Tournament in a new venue. This season's tournament will be the first held in the U.S. Cellular Center (formerly Asheville Civic Center) since 1995. Powers earned third team All-SoCon Media honors this week and leads the Eagles in assists (5.4 per game). Drayton ranks 14th in all-time scoring at Georgia Southern with 1,474 career points and leads GSU this season in steals with 45.
The Eagles swept the regular season series against Chattanooga with a 84-76 victory to open league play back on December 1st and a thrilling last-second win in Chattanooga. Jelani Hewitt (Miramar, Fla.) scored a three-pointer at the horn to give the Eagles a 75-72 victory over the Mocs on January 28th. That win sparked a six-game winning streak that shot the Eagles to finish in a tie for second place in the SoCon South.
A victory for the Eagles against Chattanooga would advance GSU to a date with Elon on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. inside the U.S. Cellular Arena while a loss would eliminate the Eagles from the SoCon Tournament.
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