VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS STATESBORO, Ga. –
Jelani Hewitt led Georgia Southern's balanced scoring attack with 17 points, and the Eagles nailed 12 3-pointers to earn a 76-61 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball victory over UALR Saturday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Hewitt added six assists for the Eagles (15-4, 8-2), and
Angel Matias chipped in 14 points and five rebounds.
Curtis Diamond came off the bench to tally 13 points and two assists.
Josh Hagins led UALR (7-13, 2-9) with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Mareik Isom scored 10.
Georgia Southern canned 12-of-28 from long distance after hitting 12-of-23 Thursday night against Appalachian State. The Eagles shot 48 percent from the floor while holding the Trojans to 36 percent and 10-of-40 in the second half.
Leading 37-32, the Eagles scored 10 straight points to take control of the contest early in the second frame. Hewitt hit a 3-pointer during the stretch, and Diamond capped it with five straight points, making the score 47-32 with 14:10 left in the game.
The cushion, which never dipped below double digits the rest of the contest, ballooned to 19 points when Hewitt fed Diamond for a 3-pointer from the right wing with 8:13 to play. The largest lead was 23 points after a
Coye Simmons baseline jumper with 1:31 to go.
Hagins scored five straight points as UALR pushed a one-point lead to a 13-5 advantage early in the contest. Trailing by five points, the Eagles used a 9-4 run, capped by a
Jake Allsmiller triple, to tie the score 21-21.
Georgia Southern went on to finish the period with a 9-3 run, keyed by 3-pointers from
Mike Hughes, Allsmiller and
Eric Ferguson, and the Eagles went into the locker room with a 33-28 advantage.
The Eagles continue their five-game homestand by playing host to Georgia State in Hanner Fieldhouse in a Whiteout. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m., and fans are encouraged to wear white to support the Eagles.
All-session ticket books to this year's Sun Belt Basketball Championships March 11-15, in New Orleans are available for $99 at the Georgia Southern Ticket Office. Call 1-800-GSU-WINS!
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.
