STATESBORO, Ga. – Jelani Hewitt scored a game-high 22 points, and Georgia Southern shot 61 percent in the second half to push past South Alabama 80-74 in Sun Belt Conference action Saturday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Hewitt added three assists, four rebounds and three steals for the Eagles (19-6, 12-4) and was one of five Georgia Southern players in double figures in the scoring column. Mike Hughes finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Curtis Diamond tallied 11 points and six boards. Angel Matias and Trent Wiedeman each scored 11.

Ken Williams led South Alabama (9-19, 7-10) with 18 points to go along with six rebounds, and Abdul Lewis posted 17 points and 13 rebounds. Taishaun Johnson netted 14 points, while Dionte Ferguson and John Brown each scored 10.

The Eagles trailed by as many as eight points in the second half and down 56-55, used a 10-0 run to take control of the game.

Matias started it with a conventional 3-point play, and Hewitt drilled a 3-pointer from the wing on a fast break after a nifty cross-court pass from Hughes. Wiedeman nailed a turnaround jumper in the lane, and Diamond capped the stretch with a jumper, giving the Eagles a 67-58 cushion with 4:22 to go.

The teams traded baskets the next two trips down the floor and then went without a basket for the next two minutes of game time. Williams trimmed the margin to 69-63 with a layup with just over a minute left and the Jaguars got a defensive stop but Matias got a steal for the Eagles and went the length of the court for a layup and a 71-63 lead with 1:03 to play.

Ferguson converted a conventional 3-point play for South Alabama with 43.2 on the clock to make it a 5-point game, but the Eagles made eight straight free throws and went 9-for-10 in the last minute to seal the win.

With the game tied 18-18 in the first half, South Alabama scored nine straight points, with Lewis netting seven, as the Jags opened a 27-18 cushion and went into halftime with a 40-32 advantage. Hewitt and Jake Allsmiller hit 3-pointers in an 11-4 Eagle run early in the second half to get Georgia Southern back in the game.

The Eagles take to the road for a pair of league games next week. Georgia Southern will travel to Appalachian State Thursday and UL Lafayette Saturday.

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.