Friday, November 13
Statesboro, Ga.
7:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern University
vs
Webber International
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Jonathan Sanks and the Eagles open the season Friday in Hanner.
Photo by: Frank Fortune - Georgia Southern Athletics
Men’s Basketball Preview: Eagles Open the Season Friday in Hanner
11/12/2015 4:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Eagles play host to Webber International at 7:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern (0-0) vs. Webber International (1-3)
Friday, Nov. 13 - Hanner Fieldhouse (4,325) – 7:30 p.m.
Gameday Guide | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
Promotions: First 100 students get a free T-Shirt; Georgia Southern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is collecting canned goods for the Statesboro Food Bank; doubleheader with GS volleyball - bring your hoops ticket to volleyball and get free admission to see the Eagles take on Troy in their regular-season finale.
Radio: 103.7 WBMZ-FM (Metter/Swainsboro), 106.5 WZBX-FM (Statesboro), 102.1 WZAT-FM (Savannah), 1370 WLOP-AM (Jesup)
Series: GS leads 4-0
Last meeting: 11/16/12, W 87-64
Probable Starters:
#1 Devonte Boykins
#2 Mike Hughes
#3 Ike Smith
#5 Devince Boykins
#11 Shawn O'Connell
Georgia Southern Information:
[Stats] [Roster] [Schedule] [@GSAthletics_MBB] [Game Notes (PDF)]
Webber International Information:
[Stats] [Roster] [Schedule] [@WebberAthletics]
Layup Line
• Georgia Southern officially opens the 2015-16 season with a home contest against Webber International in Hanner Fieldhouse.
• The Eagles posted an 87-73 exhibition victory over Middle Georgia State Nov. 5. Webber International, a member of the NAIA, has already played four contests, and owns a 1-3 record. The Warriors topped Florida College 74-64 on the road Tuesday.
• Georgia Southern returns just four scholarship letterwinners from last season's 22-9 team that advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Championship game.
• With 11-of-12 scholarship student-athletes who are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores (92 percent), Georgia Southern has the highest percentage of underclassmen on its current roster of the 345 NCAA Division I squads. Liberty (91 percent), Ohio State (85 percent), Fairleigh Dickinson (85 percent) and Wyoming (80 percent) round out the top-5.
•The Eagles are 1-1 under head Coach Mark Byington in season openers and 2-0 in home openers.
•Georgia Southern is 20-8 under Byington in Hanner Fieldhouse and posted a 13-2 record in the building last season.
• Georgia Southern lost 76 percent of its scoring and 72 percent of its rebounding from last season.
• Georgia Southern was picked 10th in the Preseason Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll.
• The Eagles are 1-1 under head Coach Mark Byington in season openers and 2-0 in home openers.
• Georgia Southern is 20-8 under Byington in Hanner Fieldhouse and posted a 13-2 record in the building last season.
The Series
• Tonight's game will be the fifth meeting between Georgia Southern and Webber International, and the previous four contests have all been in Hanner Fieldhouse.
• Georgia Southern owns a 4-0 record and won the last matchup, an 87-64 decision Nov. 16, 2012.
• The series began with a 97-69 Georgia Southern victory Nov. 15, 1997.
Last Time Out
• Montae Glenn tallied 15 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots, and Georgia Southern shot 56 percent in the first half to cruise to an 87-73 exhibition win over Middle Georgia State Nov. 5, in Hanner Fieldhouse.
• Jake Allsmiller chipped in 13 points, and two assists, and Devince Boykins recorded 10 points and five rebounds for the Eagles. Tookie Brown tallied 10 points and four assists.
• Georgia Southern shot 56 percent in the first half, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range, and held the Knights to 33 percent from the floor and 1-of-15 from long distance. The Eagles trailed 19-18 midway through the first half but used a 13-2 run to take control of the contest. Allsmiller scored the last five points in a 13-5 Eagle spurt that capped the half, and Georgia Southern led 51-31 at halftime.
Season Tickets
• Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GSEagles.com/tickets. Season ticket options are available for both general admission and reserved seating. Fans can enjoy chair-back seats in the reserved sections for $90 a season ticket for either men's or women's basketball. Alternatively, general admission season tickets are $65 and are located behind the baskets on bleachers. A combo package is also available for $120 and includes both men's and women's basketball contests.
Preseason All-Sun Belt
• Mike Hughes was named fourth-team Preseason All-Sun Belt by College Sports Madness. Hughes averaged 7.6 points and 4.9 rebounds a game, started every contest and finished second on the team in assists (70) and steals (40).
A Memorable Campaign
• Georgia Southern's 2014-15 men's basketball campaign saw the Eagles enter a new league and produce the program's deepest postseason run in over two decades. Picked ninth in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll, the Eagles finished second in the regular-season standings. Georgia Southern also made its first appearance in a conference championship game since 1992.
• Georgia Southern posted the 16th 20-win season in school history and the eighth in the Division I Era. It was the first 20-win season since the 2006-07 campaign.
• Defensively, Georgia Southern ranked 29th nationally while holding opponents to 60.2 ppg. The Eagles held opponents to .393 from the field (24th nationally) and .305 from downtown (24th nationally).
Team captains
• Mike Hughes, Jake Allsmiller, Devonte Boykins and Devince Boykins were named the 2015-16 captains in a vote by the team.
The Brothers Boykins
• Brothers Devonte and Devince Boykins will suit up for the Eagles this season. Devonte is a sophomore guard, who played in 25 contests in his freshman season. Devince is the older brother of Devonte and transferred to Georgia Southern after graduating from Marshall. The senior is a graduate student at Georgia Southern and eligible to compete for the Eagles this season. He played in 85 career games for the Thundering Herd.
Road warriors
• The Eagles play six of their first eight games on the road this season, a stretch that includes contests at Ole Miss, Auburn and No. 4 Duke.
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, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
Friday, Nov. 13 - Hanner Fieldhouse (4,325) – 7:30 p.m.
Gameday Guide | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats
Promotions: First 100 students get a free T-Shirt; Georgia Southern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is collecting canned goods for the Statesboro Food Bank; doubleheader with GS volleyball - bring your hoops ticket to volleyball and get free admission to see the Eagles take on Troy in their regular-season finale.
Radio: 103.7 WBMZ-FM (Metter/Swainsboro), 106.5 WZBX-FM (Statesboro), 102.1 WZAT-FM (Savannah), 1370 WLOP-AM (Jesup)
Series: GS leads 4-0
Last meeting: 11/16/12, W 87-64
Probable Starters:
#1 Devonte Boykins
#2 Mike Hughes
#3 Ike Smith
#5 Devince Boykins
#11 Shawn O'Connell
Georgia Southern Information:
[Stats] [Roster] [Schedule] [@GSAthletics_MBB] [Game Notes (PDF)]
Webber International Information:
[Stats] [Roster] [Schedule] [@WebberAthletics]
Layup Line
• Georgia Southern officially opens the 2015-16 season with a home contest against Webber International in Hanner Fieldhouse.
• The Eagles posted an 87-73 exhibition victory over Middle Georgia State Nov. 5. Webber International, a member of the NAIA, has already played four contests, and owns a 1-3 record. The Warriors topped Florida College 74-64 on the road Tuesday.
• Georgia Southern returns just four scholarship letterwinners from last season's 22-9 team that advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Championship game.
• With 11-of-12 scholarship student-athletes who are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores (92 percent), Georgia Southern has the highest percentage of underclassmen on its current roster of the 345 NCAA Division I squads. Liberty (91 percent), Ohio State (85 percent), Fairleigh Dickinson (85 percent) and Wyoming (80 percent) round out the top-5.
•The Eagles are 1-1 under head Coach Mark Byington in season openers and 2-0 in home openers.
•Georgia Southern is 20-8 under Byington in Hanner Fieldhouse and posted a 13-2 record in the building last season.
• Georgia Southern lost 76 percent of its scoring and 72 percent of its rebounding from last season.
• Georgia Southern was picked 10th in the Preseason Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll.
• The Eagles are 1-1 under head Coach Mark Byington in season openers and 2-0 in home openers.
• Georgia Southern is 20-8 under Byington in Hanner Fieldhouse and posted a 13-2 record in the building last season.
The Series
• Tonight's game will be the fifth meeting between Georgia Southern and Webber International, and the previous four contests have all been in Hanner Fieldhouse.
• Georgia Southern owns a 4-0 record and won the last matchup, an 87-64 decision Nov. 16, 2012.
• The series began with a 97-69 Georgia Southern victory Nov. 15, 1997.
Last Time Out
• Montae Glenn tallied 15 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots, and Georgia Southern shot 56 percent in the first half to cruise to an 87-73 exhibition win over Middle Georgia State Nov. 5, in Hanner Fieldhouse.
• Jake Allsmiller chipped in 13 points, and two assists, and Devince Boykins recorded 10 points and five rebounds for the Eagles. Tookie Brown tallied 10 points and four assists.
• Georgia Southern shot 56 percent in the first half, including 6-of-12 from 3-point range, and held the Knights to 33 percent from the floor and 1-of-15 from long distance. The Eagles trailed 19-18 midway through the first half but used a 13-2 run to take control of the contest. Allsmiller scored the last five points in a 13-5 Eagle spurt that capped the half, and Georgia Southern led 51-31 at halftime.
Season Tickets
• Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at GSEagles.com/tickets. Season ticket options are available for both general admission and reserved seating. Fans can enjoy chair-back seats in the reserved sections for $90 a season ticket for either men's or women's basketball. Alternatively, general admission season tickets are $65 and are located behind the baskets on bleachers. A combo package is also available for $120 and includes both men's and women's basketball contests.
Preseason All-Sun Belt
• Mike Hughes was named fourth-team Preseason All-Sun Belt by College Sports Madness. Hughes averaged 7.6 points and 4.9 rebounds a game, started every contest and finished second on the team in assists (70) and steals (40).
A Memorable Campaign
• Georgia Southern's 2014-15 men's basketball campaign saw the Eagles enter a new league and produce the program's deepest postseason run in over two decades. Picked ninth in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll, the Eagles finished second in the regular-season standings. Georgia Southern also made its first appearance in a conference championship game since 1992.
• Georgia Southern posted the 16th 20-win season in school history and the eighth in the Division I Era. It was the first 20-win season since the 2006-07 campaign.
• Defensively, Georgia Southern ranked 29th nationally while holding opponents to 60.2 ppg. The Eagles held opponents to .393 from the field (24th nationally) and .305 from downtown (24th nationally).
Team captains
• Mike Hughes, Jake Allsmiller, Devonte Boykins and Devince Boykins were named the 2015-16 captains in a vote by the team.
The Brothers Boykins
• Brothers Devonte and Devince Boykins will suit up for the Eagles this season. Devonte is a sophomore guard, who played in 25 contests in his freshman season. Devince is the older brother of Devonte and transferred to Georgia Southern after graduating from Marshall. The senior is a graduate student at Georgia Southern and eligible to compete for the Eagles this season. He played in 85 career games for the Thundering Herd.
Road warriors
• The Eagles play six of their first eight games on the road this season, a stretch that includes contests at Ole Miss, Auburn and No. 4 Duke.
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, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
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