Postgame radio interview with Eric Boone and Brian Burg

MIAMI – Eric Boone scored a career-high 29 points and made 10 straight free throws in the extra sessions to lead Georgia Southern to a 103-99 double overtime men's basketball victory over FIU Saturday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

Boone's final two free throws clinched it for the Eagles as the junior made a pair with 0.8 seconds left in the second session to turn a two-point lead into the final margin. 

Georgia Southern (5-2) trailed by five with 2:41 left in the first overtime, but Boone scored two straight buckets, and Elijah McCadden capped the 6-0 run with a runner in the paint with 1:36 to play. With the scored tied 82-82, Antonio Daye Jr. gave FIU a one-point lead with a free throw 44.5 seconds left, but Mackenzie McFatten put the Eagles back on top by grabbing a loose ball and putting it up and in. 

GS forced a Panther turnover on their next possession, and David Viti, seeing his first playing time in the game, made a free throw to give the Eagles an 85-83 advantage with 11.2 seconds remaining. Daye Jr. drove left and converted a layup with 1.9 to go to send it to another period. 

Boone scored 11 points in the second overtime, and his triple ignited an 8-2 run that gave GS a 98-89 cushion with 29 seconds left. Tevin Brewer would not let the Panthers go quietly, as he nailed a triple, scored a layup and then was fouled making a 3-pointer that cut the margin to 101-97 with 3.6 seconds to go. He missed the free throw, but Dante Wilcox got the rebound and scored the layup, making the score 101-99 with 1.1 seconds remaining. The Eagles inbounded to Boone who was fouled with 0.8 on the clock.

GS led by 16 early in the second half, but the Panthers (5-2) chipped away and a 10-2 run, capped by an Eric Lovett 3-pointer, gave the home team a 59-56 lead, FIU's first of the game, with 5:25 left in regulation. The contest saw four lead changes from there, and Brewer's free throw with 14.7 seconds left put the Panthers ahead 69-67. GS inbounded to Zack Bryant, who let the ball roll before picking it up, driving through the heart of the lane and exploding for a dunk over an FIU defender with 6.4 seconds to play to send the game into overtime.

Eagles of the Game 
Boone also tallied seven rebounds, three assists and four steals, and Bryant finished with 28 points on 8 of 12 shooting, four boards, two steals and two assists. Andrei Savrasov tallied 11 points and five rebounds, and McCadden finished with nine points, seven boards, four assists and a steal.

Key Stats and notes

• The final 6:05 of regulation and the two overtime periods saw 10 lead changes and seven ties. 
• The Eagles gave up one field goal in the first nine minutes of the contest and held the Panthers to 6 of 18 shooting while forcing 15 turnovers in the first half. 
• Georgia Southern made 31 of 39 from the free throw line (a season-high 79.5 percent) with Boone and Bryant combining to make 25 of 28
• FIU made 14 3-pointers in the second half and overtime periods 
• The loss broke a 10-game home non-conference winning streak for FIU that dated back to the 2018-19 season.

Next Up
The Eagles face Carver tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.