Eagles Rally to Win Overtime Thriller over Furman, 88-81

Thursday, January 16

Statesboro, Ga.

7 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

9-9, 2-1SoCon

Furman

6-12, 0-5SoCon

OT 1

Furman

Georgia Southern

Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics

1/16/2014 10:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Three Eagles score 20+ points for the first time since 1995

STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern erased a seven-point Furman advantage in the final four minutes to take an 88-81 overtime victory over the Paladins at Hanner Fieldhouse. Jelani Hewitt nailed a three-pointer with 21 seconds left in regulation to send the contest to overtime. Georgia Southern out-scored Furman 17-10 in the extra frame to seal the win.

"First of all, I want to thank the crowd tonight. I think the support we had tonight helped our guys pull this one out," said Head Coach Mark Byington. "I thought we believed that we could win even when we were down by 12. Our guys also trusted their teammates tonight."

Georgia Southern improved to an even 9-9 overall and 2-1 in SoCon play with the win and travel to face Appalachian State who fell to 0-4 in league play on Thursday night. Furman blew a lead for the second-straight contest and is 0-5 in SoCon play and 6-12 on the season.

Tre Bussey led the way for the Eagles with 26 points and four assists. The senior needs just 12 points to reach 1,000 points for his career. Angel Matias scored five of his 21 points in overtime and posted his second career double-double with 10 rebounds. As a unit, Georgia Southern out-rebounded Furman 35-33 and has won the rebounding battle in all three league games.

Hewitt, who sent the game to overtime with his clutch three-pointer, finished the game with 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The redshirt junior needs 21 more points to reach the 1,000 point threshold. He was 7-of-8 at the free throw line, missing for the first time in league play this season after making 21-straight free throws.

The Paladins were led by 26 points from Stephen Croone who also chipped in five assists. Kendrec Ferrara went 9-of-16 from the field to score 21 points for the visitors.

Furman led by as many as 12 points in the final four minutes of the first half, but a late run got the Eagles within three at the intermission. Bussey made a three-pointer with 8.0 seconds remaining to halve the advantage from six to three.

With 14:57 left in the game, Hewitt swiped a steal and took it coast to coast to give Georgia Southern its first lead of the evening at 42-40. The Paladins, however, took an 8-1 run over the next four minutes to go back up by five.

As the game entered its final phase, Furman led by seven with 4:27 remaining. A wide-open three-pointer by Matias, his second of the night, cut the lead to four while a pair of free throws by Hewitt at 3:33 made it a two-point game. After a pair of empty possessions, a Marvin Baynham steal fed the ball forward to Hewitt who fed Bussey for a layup to tie the game with 2:37 left on the clock.

Two free throws and a field goal for the visitors gave them a four point lead with 1:37 remaining. Matias made one-of-two at the free throw line with 1:03 left to bring the lead back to two. A miss by Furman at the other end gave Georgia Southern the ball back. Hewitt knocked down a game-tying three from the top of the key with 21 seconds left to blow the roof off Hanner Fieldhouse.

The Paladins had a chance to win the game on the final possession of regulation, but Croone was forced to pass the ball to a post player at the top of the key. He didn't get the ball back in time for the shot as the contest went to overtime.

Georgia Southern took control in overtime and never trailed en route to the 88-81 win over the Paladins.

Georgia Southern had three 20+ point scorers for the first time since a SoCon Tournament game against VMI in 1995.

The Eagles will have a quick reset before Saturday's game at Appalachian State. The contest between future Sun Belt Conference members starts at 2 p.m. from the Holmes Convocation Center in Uptown Boone.

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.