STATESBORO – Ike Smith scored 23 points, and Georgia Southern opened the game with a 19-2 run en route to breezing past Georgia College, 92-59, in a men's basketball exhibition contest Wednesday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Montae Glenn collected 13 points and six rebounds for the Eagles, and
Jared Hamilton scored 13.
Tookie Brown tallied 12 points, five assist, four rebounds and two steals. Smith was 8-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
Desmond Mitchell-LaFlam led Georgia College with 11 points, and Jordan Thomas scored nine.
The story
The Eagles made their first eight shots of the game, including three triples by Smith, and forced four turnovers during the 19-2 spurt that opened the contest.
The Bobcats closed the gap to 31-21 on a Thomas triple late in the first half, but Georgia Southern scored the next six points and a
Quan Jackson 3-pointer as the first-half buzzer sounded gave the Eagles a 43-27 cushion at the break.
Smith hit his fourth triple to start the second half as Georgia Southern scored the first 12 points of the period to open a 28-point cushion.
GS shot 53 percent for the contest while holding Georgia College to 39 percent and forcing 16 Bobcat turnovers.
Quotable from head coach Mark Byington
"I'm excited about this group, and for the first time in a couple years, we have seniors. This senior class has been through a lot. These guys, as freshmen, were two points away from going to the NCAA Tournament, and I like the fact that they are going to have urgency. I'm hoping that urgency spreads to the younger guys."
"We're continuing to focus on defense. One of the challenges of younger teams is understanding the importance of defense and going on the road where it's extremely important and playing in tournament games where defense and rebounding are extremely important. Older guys get it. The last time we had a senior-laden team a couple years ago, we were one of the top-20 defensive teams in the country because they got it. These guys are starting to get it, and it's still a major emphasis for us."
Next up
The Eagles play another exhibition game Friday at Augusta with tipoff set for 7 p.m. in Christenberry Arena.
It's a charity contest to raise awareness and financial support for hurricane relief efforts, and proceeds from the "Storm the Berry" game will be donated to the American Red Cross to assist victims of the recent hurricanes that have occurred recently in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
General admission is $10. AU and Georgia Southern students are free of charge with a valid university ID, while non-Augusta and Georgia Southern students, senior citizens and military are $5 at the main entrance. Children six and under are free of charge. There will be "Storm the Berry" adidas t-shirts on sale at the game, with all proceeds also going to the American Red Cross.
Fans can donate to the cause online at Give.GSEagles.com/Hurricane or by sending a check to the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation (GSUAF, PO Box 8115, Statesboro, GA 30460). Make out the check to GSUAF, and in the memo portion, put Basketball Hurricane Relief.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides current information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, which is fully responsive across all mobile devices. Information on Eagle athletics can also be found through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics and Instagram.com/GSAthletics. To purchase tickets to Georgia Southern athletics events, visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
In order to expedite entry and provide a safe environment for all patrons and participants, Georgia Southern Athletics has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all ticketed sporting events, effective Aug. 1, 2017. Fans can find the complete policy as well as an FAQ section at GSEagles.com/ClearBag.
