Box Score STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern men's basketball team forced 22 turnovers and went to the free throw line 32 times to earn a 75-66 win over Brewton-Parker at Hanner Fieldhouse Wednesday evening.

"We've got to figure out some things and learn to respect the game," said Head Coach Mark Byington. "We are fortunate to be playing college basketball and we have to do a better job of playing the right way. At the end of the day a win is a win, but we've got to play better and have a killer instinct. We practiced really well this week, but that didn't translate as well as we would have liked." 

The win was the first for Georgia Southern (4-5) on the mainland of the United States since Nov. 16 and just the second in the last six games.

The Eagles, who played without their fourth leading scorer Brian Holmes for the fourth consecutive game, shot 40% from the floor and made 75% of their free throws.

Jelani Hewitt led all scorers with 26 points, his seventh game with 20 or more points, and hit four of eight three pointers. Tre Bussey joined him in double figures for the ninth time this season with 21 points, and Marvin Baynham added 11 points. Hewitt has now scored 20 or more points in three-straight games. Angel Matias led GSU in the rebounding column with 10 boards and finished just a point shy of his second career double-double.

Brewton-Parker (5-5) made 46.4% of their field goals but shot just 31.3% from beyond the three-point line and 56.3% from the charity stripe. The Barons out rebounded the Eagles 36-33 but scored only 13 second chance points.

Led by Darrie Stephens' 20 points, Brewton-Parker had four scorers in double figures. Nick Plummer scored 15 points on six for 15 shooting, while Kenny Cunningham and Deion Bernard added 10 points each.

Georgia Southern led by 10 points for most of the game but did not open a double-digit lead until the Eagles embarked on a 12-0 run with 14:31 remaining in the first half. GSU reached the bonus with 14:31 remaining in the first half and attempted 18 first half free throws, the most since the season opener against Columbia International.

Brewton-Parker outscored the Eagles 40-38 in the second half after shooting 50% from the floor. The Barons cut into the double-digit lead and trailed by just seven points with 8:33 to play in the second half. The Eagles used a 7-3 run to jump ahead by 11 points with 5:25 remaining. Brewton-Parker cut the lead back down to 10 points with 3:38 to play, but the Eagles were able to hold on for the nine point win.

Georgia Southern is back on the road and will look to reach .500 when they travel to South Carolina State on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game can be heard on the Georgia Southern Radio Network and online at gseagles.com.

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.