SAVANNAH, Ga. – Ike Smith tallied a career-high 29 points and five rebounds, and Georgia Southern used a decisive 15-4 run in the second half to take control of the game and top Savannah State 94-75 in men's basketball action Thursday night in Tiger Arena.

Tookie Brown finished with 20 points and seven assists for Georgia Southern (4-3), and Mike Hughes collected 14 points, five rebounds and two steals. Montae Glenn added eight points and five rebounds, and Shawn O'Connell chipped in eight points and seven boards.

Austin Dasent collected 18 points and eight rebounds for Savannah State (2-7), and Joshua Floyd netted 13 points. Troyce Manassa scored 11.

The story
The Eagles trailed 60-57 with 12 minutes to go in the game but used a 15-4 run, ignited by a Coye Simmons putback, to take control of the game. Smith hit two jumpers, while Brown and Hughes canned 3-pointers during the stretch.

Hughes hit two more triples and fed Glenn for a dunk, and Brown added a 3-pointer to give the Eagles an 83-70 lead with 3:39 to go.

Savannah State made 10 of its first 15 3-point attempts and hit 11 of 17 in the first half to build a 44-43 cushion at halftime. Georgia Southern picked up the defense, and the Tigers cooled off in the second period. Savannah State made just three of 17 from downtown in the frame and missed their last nine of the game. The Tigers shot 58 percent from the field in the first half and 32 percent in the second half.

Quotables from Head coach Mark Byington
"We made some adjustments, and I think it took our guys a little bit of time to adjust to the rhythm of the game. And you got to give those guys some credit - they made some tough 3s, and with a team like that, it's contagious. The second half was contagious the other way to where a couple guys missed some maybe they normally make, and it started going there. But we did a better job of guarding the 3-point line, and I was proud of our team making adjustments in the second half."

"We have to play in tough environments in Sun Belt play and different times of the year, and this game shows me we can handle the environment. Tonight, we played to win. We didn't always play great in the first half, but I think we understood and had faith and stayed the course."

On upcoming game against Florida Gulf Coast
"I wish we had more home games but I can tell our fans, they need to come out for this one. Florida Gulf Coast has been to the Sweet 16 and they're Dunk City and they should have beat Michigan State this year - there was a clock error on the last shot. They are really, really good, and I want to see what Hanner can look like in a game like this. Hopefully everybody comes out and helps us out on Sunday because it's going to be a big-time game."

Next up
Georgia Southern plays its second home game of the season when the Eagles host Atlantic Sun preseason favorite and defending champion Florida Gulf Coast Sunday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse.

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