MOBILE, Ala. – Jelani Hewitt and Curtis Diamond combined for 41 points, and Georgia Southern shot 53 percent from the field to earn an 81-73 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball victory over South Alabama Saturday in the Mitchell Center. The Eagles are back at home on Thursday night to face first place UL Lafayette inside Hanner Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m.
 
Hewitt was 5-for-11 from the field with three from long distance and hit 9-of-12 from the charity stripe to score 22 points for the Eagles (10-3, 3-1). Diamond scored a season-high 19 points, making 4-of-6 from downtown, and corralled five rebounds.
 
Trent Wiedeman posted 12 points and nine rebounds, while Mike Hughes tallied 11 points, five assists and three rebounds. The Eagles made 28-of-53 from the floor, marking the second straight game they shot 50 percent or better, and logged 15 assists.
 
Ken Williams scored 23 points to lead South Alabama (4-11, 2-3), while Barrington Stevens, Dionte Ferguson and Taishaun Johnson each netted 10.
 
"It was a great team win," said Georgia Southern coach Mark Byington. "Anybody we put into the game tonight produced, and that's what you want. Every single guy that came in tonight played their role well."
 
After the Jags trimmed a seven-point Georgia Southern lead to 61-60 late in the second half, Diamond took over with a driving layup from the left side and then nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key. That ignited an 11-3 run for the Eagles, and two free-throws by Hewitt made the margin 74-63 with 2:24 remaining.
 
Trailing 48-46 just over five minutes into the second half, Georgia Southern used an 11-2 run to open a 57-50 cushion. Wiedeman scored four points during the stretch, capping it with a jumper in the paint after getting a steal and hitting Kyle Doyle for a fast-break layup.
 
"The leadership of our seniors has been tremendous - they were very positive and very focused at halftime, and we just gave them a couple things to address in the locker room," said Byington.  "Their mentality was to come out and win the first four minutes of the second half and it carried throughout the rest of the game."
 
Williams hit two 3-pointers to help the Jaguars jump out to a 12-2 lead to open the game. Trailing 32-23, the Eagles closed the frame with an 8-2 run, capped by a Hewitt 3-pointer, and trailed 34-31 at halftime.
 
The Eagles scored 25 points off of 16 Jag turnovers in the game, and held a 12-point edge in points in the paint.
 
"We take pride in our defense to stop the run and continue to get stops, and we know our offense is coming to come through," said Diamond.
 
The Eagles return home Thursday, Jan. 15, when they take on UL Lafayette in Hanner Fieldhouse. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. in the nightcap of a doubleheader with the women's program.
 
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