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Georgia Southern University Athletics

Jelani Hewitt
Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics

Men's Basketball

Eagles Bury Rams in Byington’s First Game in Statesboro, 110-74

GSU scores over 100 for first time since 2010-11 season

Box Score FINAL STATSPHOTO GALLERY

STATESBORO, Ga.
- Tre Bussey and Jelani Hewitt both scored 20+ points each as the Georgia Southern Eagles raced to a 110-74 season-opening win over the Columbia International Rams on Friday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.

The 100-point night was the first since Nov. 18, 2010 and the 102nd in program history. The 61 first-half points were more than the Eagles' total team score in half of the 2012-13 season.

"We got the ball moving well in the first five minutes and that got our offense going," said Head Coach Mark Byington. "The offense had some slumps, but overall we played very well. I told the team to make this performance their worst of the season and get better every time they take the floor."

Georgia Southern (1-0) had six players in double figures for the first time since Dec. 4, 2010. Hewitt paced the Eagles with 25 points and four assists, while Tre Bussey made six of 11 free throws and finished with 20 points. Curtis Diamond and Marvin Baynham totaled 16 points each, a new career-high for Baynham. Kyle Doyle posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Angel Matias had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Ben Johnson paced Columbia International (2-0) with 20 points and six boards. Ryan Gibson added 17 points and Zach Durkee had 14 points on seven of nine shooting.

The Rams do not take an official loss with the game credited as an exhibition for the visitors.

GSU broke open a two-point advantage early in the first half and scored nine unanswered points to lead 18-7 with 15:21 to play. The Eagles went on an 11-0 run with 13 minutes to go and took a 36-15 lead on a pair of Kyle Doyle free throws. GSU finished the half on a 13-1 that encompassed nearly four minutes of play.

The Eagles opened the second half on a 14-3 run which was powered by five points from Marvin Baynham. GSU led 90-53 midway through the second period after Tre Bussey drained a layup and a foul shot. The Eagles hit 100 points with 6:51 remaining on a Marvin Bayhnam free throw. GSU closed the game on a 9-7 run over the final six minutes to preserve the win.

The men's basketball team returns to the court Monday night in Coral Gables, Fla. The Eagles square off with defending ACC regular season champions, Miami on ESPN3. Tip-off is set for 7 pm.

Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
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