PHOTO GALLERY

STATESBORO, Ga. – Trent Wiedeman posted 12 points and nine rebounds, and Georgia Southern held Texas State to 15 points in the second half to gut out a 40-36 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball victory over the Bobcats Saturday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

It was the first Sun Belt Conference victory in program history for the Eagles (8-3, 1-1) who joined the league this season.

Jelani Hewitt tallied 10 points and five rebounds, and Eric Ferguson registered 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots.

Emani Gant was the only scorer in double figures for Texas State (7-4, 1-1) with 10 points to go along with six rebounds. D.J. Brown posted eight points and four boards.

With the Eagles trailing 33-30, Hewitt knocked in a 3-pointer from the wing with 3:50 left, and after the teams traded free-throws, Angel Matias got his own rebound and put it back in for a 37-35 Georgia Southern lead.

On Texas State's trip down the floor, Mike Hughes stole a laser pass after it bounced off a few Bobcats and through the lane. The Eagles ran the shot clock all the way down on their possession, but Wiedeman was whistled for a foul trying to get the rebound off a Hewitt miss.

Cameron Naylor made 1-of-2 from the line, and Wiedeman got the rebound. Hewitt was fouled and hit two from the stripe to put the Eagles ahead 39-36 with 16 seconds left, and Georgia Southern elected to foul Brown with eight seconds remaining to avoid a game-tying 3-point attempt. Brown was short on the front end of the 1-and-1 opportunity, and Hewitt corralled the rebound and was fouled. The senior made 1-of-2 to seal the win.

"It was an extremely hard-fought win," said Georgia Southern coach Mark Byington. "I told the guys in the locker room that I'm so proud that they found a way to win. They showed toughness – nothing was easy about tonight. We grinded it out and won it with our defense."

The Eagles held Texas State to 17 percent shooting in the second half and 27 percent for the contest. Georgia Southern notched a 35-31 advantage on the offensive glass and outscored the Bobcats 9-4 in second-chance points.

The offensive struggles began in the first half as both teams combined to shoot 13-for-34 with 24 turnovers. The Eagles started out 1-for-7 with four turnovers, digging an 11-4 hole, but grinded away on the defensive end and trailed just 21-19 at halftime.

"Early on, they got out in transition because of our turnovers, but our guys realized what type of game it was going to be, played defense, got stops and found a way," said Byington.

The Eagles start a two-game road trip at Arkansas State Thursday, Jan. 8. Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. (Eastern).

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.