Men’s Basketball Opens Sun Belt Slate with 64-50 Win over South Alabama

Thursday, December 29

Statesboro, Ga.

8 p.m.

Georgia Southern University

8-6,1-0Sun Belt

South Alabama

6-7,0-1Sun Belt

South Alabama

Ga. Southern

Jalen Finch posted 14 points and five assists.

Photo by: AJ Henderson / Georgia Southern Athletics

Men’s Basketball Opens Sun Belt Slate with 64-50 Win over South Alabama

12/29/2022 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

The Eagles play at Coastal Carolina Saturday afternoon.

By: Marc Gignac

Postgame radio interview with Brian Burg

Postgame radio interview with Kamari Brown

STATESBORO – Jalen Finch tallied 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals, and Georgia Southern held South Alabama to 29.7 percent shooting from the field to open Sun Belt Conference play with a 64-50 victory over the Jags Thursday night in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Eagles of the Game
Finch was 6 of 11 from the floor and had no turnovers in the contest, and Kaden Archie collected 12 points and six rebounds. Andrei Savrasov scored nine points, and Kamari Brown finished with a game-high 12 rebounds. Carlos Curry added 11 boards.

Key Moments
The Eagles (8-6) held South Alabama to 1 for 13 from the floor as they used a 17-3 run to open a 29-14 lead following a conventional 3-point play by Tai Strickland with 4:43 left in the first half.

South Alabama (6-7) came right back with eight straight points, capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Owen White, but Savrasov and Strickland hit triples inside the final 1:10 of the period, and the Eagles led 35-25 at halftime.

Archie scored the first two baskets of the second half to push the margin to 14 points, but Tyrell Jones netted all eight points in an 8-2 Jags' spurt that trimmed the lead 41-33. The Eagles responded by scoring the next five points and used a 10-4 run over a four minute stretch to push the margin to 61-43 with 5:14 remaining.

Stats and Notes
- Georgia Southern improved to 5-4 in Sun Belt openers, including 3-1 in Hanner Fieldhouse.
- GS outrebounded South Alabama 54-27 overall and 17-9 on the offensive glass.
- The Eagles held South Alabama to 19 of 64 from the field in the game, including 28 percent in the second half (9-32).
- It's the 21st time that Georgia Southern has held its opponent under 60 points under Brian Burg and the 27th time the Eagles have held their opponent under 40 percent shooting.

Next up
The Eagles travel to Coastal Carolina for a 2 p.m. New Year's Eve contest Saturday, and the game will air on ESPN+ and the Georgia Southern Sports Network. GS returns home for a pair of Sun Belt contests against Marshall (Jan. 5) and Old Dominion (Jan. 7) next week.

The following Hanner for the Holidays ticket specials are available for all games in Hanner through Jan. 7 at the Athletics Ticket Office in the Cowart Building Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. or at the gate on game days (gates open one hour prior to tipoff).
- Bulloch County High Schoolers can purchase discounted $3 tickets with their school ID.
- All active duty, retired and veteran military personnel may claim a free ticket and purchase discounted $3 tickets for their families.
- All Bulloch County Recreation Basketball players may claim a free ticket when they wear their jersey and their parents may purchase discounted $3 tickets.