SEASON IN REVIEW NOTES

STATESBORO, GA. – 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. The Eagles announced their presence in the Sun Belt with authority, finishing second in the regular season standings after being picked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll. Georgia Southern also made its first appearance in a conference championship game since 1992. All this with a second-year head coach and two freshman in the starting lineup through most of the year.

BY THE NUMBERS
20         Georgia Southern earned its first 20-win season since 2005-06.
22         Georgia Southern was 22-0 when out-scoring opponents.
32         Under Coach Byington, the Eagles are 32-1 while leading with five minutes left and 16-0 this season.
37         Georgia Southern recorded its largest win over a D-I opponent since 11-12-2006 with a 37-point win over App State.
203        Georgia Southern has scored a 3-pointer in 203-straight games.
252        Jelani Hewitt set the school record with 252 career steals, besting Terry Williams' mark of 221 vs. UL Monroe (1-24-15).
270        Jelani Hewitt has made 270 career three-pointers. He broke Elton Nesbitt (2003-06) and Terry Williams (2001-05) school record of 262 in the win over UT Arlington.
394        Jelani Hewitt broke Elton Nesbit's school record of 353 career free throws made in the Arkansas State game (2-12-15) and has now made 394 free throws.
1992      Georgia Southern made its first appearance in a conference championship game since 1992 when the Eagles reached the Sun Belt Championship Game on March 15th, 2015.
2014      Georgia Southern joined the #FunBelt on July 1, 2014.

FIND A WAY
Georgia Southern's mantra throughout the 2014-15 season has been "Find a Way." The Eagles have dealt with the adversity of losing a player (Angel Matias) who had started all 60 games in the Blue and White.

FIRST TRIP TO CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SINCE 1992
In Georgia Southern's first trip to the Sun Belt Tournament, the Eagles reached the Championship Game for the first time since 1992 when the Eagles went to the TAAC Championship Game, defeating Georgia State for the program's third trip to the NCAA Tournament. The 2014-15 Eagles took a semifinal win over UL Monroe, 44-43. The Eagles ultimately fell 38-36 to Georgia State as a pair of three-pointers in the final seconds did not fall.

BACK-TO-BACK SEMIFINAL RUNS FOR FIRST TIME IN A DECADE
Georgia Southern's success in the Sun Belt Tournament was all the more remarkable because it came against the run of form for the program over the last decade. The 2014-15 Eagles became the first Georgia Southern hoops team to reach back-to-back conference semifinals since the 2003-04 and 2004-05 squads reached the SoCon Semifinals in both those seasons.

EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Georgia Southern entered the 2014-15 season picked ninth in the preseason coaches' poll, and not expected to make an appearance in the Sun Belt Tournament. Instead the Eagles led the league for much of the season and finished just one game out of first place, falling to Georgia State in the regular season finale.

RACKING UP THE WINS
Georgia Southern's 22-9 record this season was the most wins for Eagle Basketball in 23 years. The Eagles posted their first 20-win season since the 2005-06 season. 22 wins is the fifth most wins in program history while the nine losses are tied for seventh fewest losses in the history of Georgia Southern Basketball.

ALL-SUN BELT EAGLES
Jelani Hewitt and Trent Wiedeman each earned All-Sun Belt Honors, taking spots on the first and third teams, respectively. The pair, added the 2014-15 awards to their haul of All-SoCon awards earned earlier in their career. Hewitt and Wiedeman each earned All-Sun Belt Tournament honors in New Orleans.

EAGLES DEFEND THE HOME FLOOR
Georgia Southern went 13-2 at home this season while going undefeated in non-conference play. The Eagles posted notable wins over Georgia State, Appalachian State, UL Lafayette, and Florida International to name a few.

SELLOUT CROWDS
Georgia Southern recorded its first sellout since 2009 when UL Lafayette came to Hanner Fieldhouse on January 15th. The Eagles followed suit on February 5th for the game against Georgia State with the second sellout this season. With attendance figures of 4,325 each night, Georgia Southern tied for the seventh-largest crowds in building history. It was the first time in school history that the Eagles sold out two games in the same season.

THIRD-LARGEST RPI IMPROVEMENT
Georgia Southern's improvement of seven wins this season came with a 191-place jump in RPI. The Eagles were third amongst most improved teams according to NCAA RPI. The rank of 113 was higher than seven teams that made the NCAA tournament. The Eagles also finished higher than 20 BCS schools including Auburn, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, Southern Cal, Marquette, Boston College, and Nebraska.

PL.         SCHOOL                       2013-14              2014-15              IMPROVEMENT
1.            UC Davis                       323                    75                      248
2.            Central Michigan            394                    70                      224
3.            Ga. Southern               304                    113                     191
4.            Loyola Chicago              292                    123                    169
5.            Eastern Washington       230                    74                      156

MAKE IT RAIN
The Eagles were one of the nation's top three-point shooting teams, and finished first in the Sun Belt with 7.5 made three-pointers per game. The team made 234 on the year which is the second-most in the program's history behind last seasons' school record haul of 242 baskets from downtown.

DEFENSE GETS THE JOB DONE
The 2014-15 Eagles were one of the best defensive teams in the nation. The Eagles rank nationally in Scoring Defense (60.2 ppg – 31st), Field Goal Percentage Defense (.393 – 25th), and 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense (.305 – 22nd). Jelani Hewitt was named Defensive Player of the Year in the Conference and ranked seventh nationally in steals per game (2.5).

HEWITT LAYS SEIGE TO THE RECORD BOOKS
Jelani Hewitt will go down as one of the greatest players ever to play for the Eagles. Hewitt closed his playing career with school records in Free Throws Made (394), Career Steals (252), Three-pointers made (270), Three-pointers attempted (768). Hewitt also scored 1,810 career points to rank sixth in all-time scoring and fourth in the Division I era.

FERGUSON LEAVES HIS MARK
Eric Ferguson has left his mark on the Georgia Southern record books. Ferguson graduates ranked seventh in rebounding 723 boards and 14th in scoring with 1,482 points. He also ranks third in career blocks with 101 and eighth in steals with 157. Ferguson sits second in career free throws attempted (499) and ninth in field goals made (556).

HEWITT THIRD IN SUN BELT SCORING
Jelani Hewitt led the Eagles with 17.6 points per game this year including 33-point outbursts against Florida International South Florida. Hewitt has continued the tradition of high scoring players under Coach Mark Byington.

YEAR                 PLAYER                       SCHOOL            NOTES                                                                
2014-15              Jelani Hewitt                 Ga. Southern       Ranked third in Sun Belt with 17.6 ppg
2013-14              Jelani Hewitt                 Ga. Southern       Led So-Con in scoring with 19.6 ppg
2012-13              Erick Green                  Va. Tech              Led ACC and nation in scoring with 25.0 ppg
2010-11              Andrew Goudelock        Charleston           Led So-Con and 4th in nation 23.4 ppg

EAGLES ALSO EXCELL IN THE CLASSROOM
Georgia Southern's excellence on the court was amplified by the fact that the Eagles will graduate all seven seniors on the roster this year. During Byington's tenure, the Eagles have a perfect graduation rate with all 13 seniors graduating including 2 former players that returned to Statesboro to complete their degrees.

COACH BYINGTON WINS WHACK HYDER GEORGIA COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
Mark Byington won the 2015 Whack Hyder Georgia College Coach of the Year Award. Byington joins his mentor Bobby Cremins, and former Eagle coaches Jeff Price and Frank Kerns as recipients. Byington was also chosen by NBC Sports as the Sun Belt Coach of the Year. He has compiled a 37-24 record at Georgia Southern. The 37 wins is the most wins for any Eagle Coach after two seasons in the Division I era.

HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT'S COMING BACK
The 2015-16 Eagles will return two starters who played a combined 1,629 minutes this season. Mike Hughes started every game of his freshman campaign while Jake Allsmiller started 19 of the final 20 games this season. Other contributors who look for expanded roles include Devonte Boykins, Coye Simmons, and Kyle Doyle. The program redshirted 4 players last season (Shawn O'Connell, Jonathan Sanks, Aubrey McRae, Amonte Potter) who will have a chance to make a major impact in upcoming seasons.

NOTABLE WINS IN 140 CHARACTERS OR LESS

Game 4 | FIU 72 – GS 78 | 11/24/14 | Statesboro
Eagles get third-straight win with 78-72 triumph over FIU. Hewitt scores season high 33 points on 14-of-15 from the FT line.

Game 7 | GS 68 – USF 63 | 12/15/14 | Tampa, Fla.
Hewitt goes off for 33 points as Eagles take 68-63 win at USF. 14-2 run early in 2nd half lifts Eagles to victory and 5-2 start.

Game 11 | GS 40 – Texas State 36 | 1/3/15 | Statesboro
Eagles score fewest points in more than a decade, hold on for 40-36 win in a donnybrook over Texas State for first Sun Belt victory

Game 14 | GS 78 – UL Lafayette 70 | 1/15/15 | Statesboro
A sellout crowd of 4,325 fans saw the Eagles move into first place with a statement win over UL Lafayette. Hughes led the Eagles with 18 pts

Game 18 | GS 83 – App State 46 | 1/29/15 | Statesboro
Eagles lead the entire way en route to the program's biggest win over a D-I opponent since the 2006 season opener, dominate APP 83-46

Game 20 | GS 58 – GAST 54 | 2/5/15 | Statesboro
Eagles prevail in defensive struggle vs rivals in 'Boro, 58-54. GS shoots .286 from the field, lowest in Byington era, but takes win.

Game 23 | GS 72 – ASU 70 - OT | 2/14/15 | Little Rock
Jelani Hewitt makes three free throws with 1.7 seconds left as Eagles force overtime and take the 72-70 win at UALR to keep pace with ULM.

Game 26 | GS 77 – APP STATE 58 | 2/26/15 | Boone, N.C.
Eagles lead all 80 minutes of season series against mountaineers, take first win since 2004 in the High Country and stay top of Fun Belt.

Game 28 | GS 76 – UTA 64 | 3/5/15 | Statesboro
Eagles erase 17-point first half deficit to take a 12-point win over UT Arlington on Senior Night to set up Southern vs. State battle on Sat.

Game 30 | GS 44 – ULM 43 | 3/14/15 | New Orleans
Eagles overcome a 28% shooting night to eliminate ULM and reach a conference championship game for first time since 1992.

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