Postgame radio interview with Quan Jackson and Mark Byington

MONROE, La. – Quan Jackson scored 24 points, including 20 in the second half, and Josh Nicholas' half-court shot as time expired was a touch too strong as Georgia Southern outlasted ULM, 67-65, Thursday night in Fant-Ewing Coliseum.

Eagles of the Game
Jackson made four 3-pointers in the second frame, including three in the final 7:16 of the contest, and finished the game with five steals. Ike Smith tallied 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Simeon Carter collected 13 points and nine rebounds. Isaiah Crawley notched 10 points and five boards.

Key moments
After ULM trimmed a 17-point Eagle lead to 63-60 with 1:25 to go, Smith made a step-back jumper at the other end to push the margin to five. Michael Ertel, who finished with 30 points, answered with a pull-up jumper of his own, but Smith found Carter for a layup with the shot clock running down, giving GS a 67-62 cushion with  15.8 seconds remaining. 

The Eagles forced a 3-point miss from the corner, and the ball bounced around before jumping into the hands of a spotted-up Erie Olonade, who drained a triple with 6.4 to go. The Eagles inbounded the ball to Jackson who was fouled, and the junior missed the front end of a 1-and-1. The ball was batted around before Nichols got it and let it fly from just over the half-court line, and it hit the backboard and came off the front of the rim. 

The Eagles (14-10, 8-5) took control of the contest with a 21-3 run over the first 6:59 of the second half. Jackson scored nine during the stretch, while Smith and Carter each netted five points. Ertel scored 10 points as ULM (6-16, 2-11) used a 12-0 spurt to get back in the game, and his two free throws made the score 52-47 with 8:04 to go. 

Key stats
Jackson topped the 20-point mark for the third straight contest. The Eagles scored 19 points off of 18 Warhawk turnovers.

Next up
GS takes on Louisiana Saturday in the Cajundome. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+.