Kyle Doyle tallied 10 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Men’s Basketball Posts 78-56 Exhibition Win over North Greenville
11/7/2014 9:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Box score (PDF)
STATESBORO, Ga. – Jelani Hewitt led all scorers with 20 points, and Georgia Southern shot 52 percent in the second half to pull away from North Greenville and notch a 78-56 men's basketball victory in an exhibition contest Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Hewitt was 8-of-15 from the floor and added four assists for the Eagles, who knocked down 6-of-12 from 3-point range in the second half. Kyle Doyle tallied 10 points, six rebounds and four steals, while Angel Matias recorded 11 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Curtis Diamond finished with 11 points and two steals.
Georgia Southern had 13 steals as a team and forced 22 turnovers while holding North Greenville to 34 percent shooting from the floor in the game and 26 percent in the second half.
LaShawn Alexander led the way for North Greenville with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Micah Parker scored 17 and hit 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
After a 3-pointer by Crusader Spencer Reaves tied the score 31-31 early in the second half, Georgia Southern used an 18-4 run to take control of the contest. Hewitt had eight points during the stretch.
The Crusaders trimmed the margin to 10 points, but Hewitt scored two straight buckets to ignite another 10-0 Eagle spurt that made the margin 20 points with 5:57 to go. The lead grew to as many as 23 points on a Jonathan Sanks triple from the wing with 1:27 left.
Georgia Southern had some good looks but could not get them to go down in the first half. The Eagles were 2-for-12 to start the contest and trailed 13-7 early. A 16-2 run, keyed by five points from Doyle and four from Trent Wiedeman, opened a 23-15 cushion for Georgia Southern. Parker trimmed the margin in half with a triple from the wing, and that's the way it would stay as the Eagles went into halftime with a 31-28 lead.
"We learned a lot tonight," said Georgia Southern coach Mark Byington "We weren't quite right in the first half. Guys were a little nervous, and we didn't play the kind of basketball that we wanted. We learned from it, and I think we were a lot better in the second half. We adjusted after halftime and guarded the ball better. Now it's off to the regular season and a big game next Friday at Illinois."
The Eagles open the regular season at Illinois Friday, Nov. 14, in a 9 p.m. tipoff (ET), and the contest will be televised live on ESPN3. Georgia Southern plays its home opener against Trinity College (Fla.) Nov. 18, in a doubleheader with the Eagle women's team. The men's game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff with the women facing Jacksonville at 5 p.m.
Season tickets are on sale now for a substantial savings off the single-game price. General admission season tickets start at just $65 with reserved seats available starting at $90. Fans can purchase a reserved combo ticket for men's and women's games for $120.
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.
STATESBORO, Ga. – Jelani Hewitt led all scorers with 20 points, and Georgia Southern shot 52 percent in the second half to pull away from North Greenville and notch a 78-56 men's basketball victory in an exhibition contest Friday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Hewitt was 8-of-15 from the floor and added four assists for the Eagles, who knocked down 6-of-12 from 3-point range in the second half. Kyle Doyle tallied 10 points, six rebounds and four steals, while Angel Matias recorded 11 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Curtis Diamond finished with 11 points and two steals.
Georgia Southern had 13 steals as a team and forced 22 turnovers while holding North Greenville to 34 percent shooting from the floor in the game and 26 percent in the second half.
LaShawn Alexander led the way for North Greenville with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Micah Parker scored 17 and hit 4-of-7 from 3-point range.
After a 3-pointer by Crusader Spencer Reaves tied the score 31-31 early in the second half, Georgia Southern used an 18-4 run to take control of the contest. Hewitt had eight points during the stretch.
The Crusaders trimmed the margin to 10 points, but Hewitt scored two straight buckets to ignite another 10-0 Eagle spurt that made the margin 20 points with 5:57 to go. The lead grew to as many as 23 points on a Jonathan Sanks triple from the wing with 1:27 left.
Georgia Southern had some good looks but could not get them to go down in the first half. The Eagles were 2-for-12 to start the contest and trailed 13-7 early. A 16-2 run, keyed by five points from Doyle and four from Trent Wiedeman, opened a 23-15 cushion for Georgia Southern. Parker trimmed the margin in half with a triple from the wing, and that's the way it would stay as the Eagles went into halftime with a 31-28 lead.
"We learned a lot tonight," said Georgia Southern coach Mark Byington "We weren't quite right in the first half. Guys were a little nervous, and we didn't play the kind of basketball that we wanted. We learned from it, and I think we were a lot better in the second half. We adjusted after halftime and guarded the ball better. Now it's off to the regular season and a big game next Friday at Illinois."
The Eagles open the regular season at Illinois Friday, Nov. 14, in a 9 p.m. tipoff (ET), and the contest will be televised live on ESPN3. Georgia Southern plays its home opener against Trinity College (Fla.) Nov. 18, in a doubleheader with the Eagle women's team. The men's game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff with the women facing Jacksonville at 5 p.m.
Season tickets are on sale now for a substantial savings off the single-game price. General admission season tickets start at just $65 with reserved seats available starting at $90. Fans can purchase a reserved combo ticket for men's and women's games for $120.
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.
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