Men’s Basketball Trumps FIU, 78-72, Behind 33 Points From Hewitt

Monday, November 24

Statesboro, Ga.

7 PM

Georgia Southern University

3-1

Florida International

3-1

Fla. International

Georgia Southern

Jelani Hewitt

Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics

Men’s Basketball Trumps FIU, 78-72, Behind 33 Points From Hewitt

11/24/2014 9:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Senior sets a new seasn high en route to the Eagles’ third win of the year

STATESBORO, GA. – Jelani Hewitt led all scorers with 33 points, and Georgia Southern hit 31-of-41 from the charity stripe to earn a 78-72 men's basketball victory over Florida International Monday night in Hanner Fieldhouse. Georgia Southern plays South Carolina State on Saturday night in a 2:30 p.m. matinee.

Trailing 70-61, FIU scored nine straight points to make the score 72-70 with 1:26 remaining. Adrian Diaz scored five points to start the run, and Tashawn Desir stole a pass and fed Marco Porcher Jimenez for a three-ball in transition to cap the stretch.

Curtis Diamond went to the basket on the Eagles' next possession, was fouled and knocked down 1-of-2 from the line. Porcher Jimenez had his 3-point try from the wing rim out on the Panthers' trip down the floor to leave the door open for the Eagles. Hewitt got the rebound with 31.3 seconds left, and the Panthers were forced to foul. The Eagles (3-1) nailed 5-of-6 from the line to seal the win.

"It was good to have a positive result tonight," said Head Coach Mark Byington. "FIU came back in the game, give them credit for their fight. We had a couple times when we thought we could have put the game away earlier, but we didn't make those plays. I was proud of our defensive effort, but we've still got some things to clean up on offense before we play again on Saturday."

Hewitt was 8-of-14 from the field and 14-of-15 from the free-throw line to set a new season high. Diamond scored 11 points, and Trent Wiedeman collected 11 points and eight boards. Mike Hughes finished with nine points and a game-high 11 boards.

Diaz finished with 33 points to lead Florida International (3-1) and added seven rebounds. Daviyon Draper tallied nine points and eight boards.

The first half saw eight ties and two lead changes as both teams struggled from the floor with FIU shooting 39 percent and Georgia Southern shooting 36 percent. The Eagles scored 13 points off turnovers and nine second-chance points to build a slim four-point cushion at the break.

Georgia Southern hit seven of its first 14 shots to start the second half, including four 3-pointers, and the Eagles built a 60-47 lead on a pair of Hewitt free throws midway through the frame. Doyle started a 10-3 run with a layup, while Wiedeman and Hughes each hit a pair from the charity stripe.

A 10-2 spurt, capped by a Kris Gulley 3-pointer from the corner cut the lead to five points, but Hewitt was fouled on a triple try and knocked down all three free throws for Georgia Southern.

Fans can take advantage of a ticket special for Saturday afternoon's game. Fans can show their ticket for the football game and get a basketball ticket for just $5. Tipoff for the Eagles and Bulldogs is set for 2:30 p.m.

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, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. For tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com.