LA ROMANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC– Georgia Southern men's basketball knocked off Trenes del Este 111-72 in the first game of its Dominican Republic tour at Polideportivo Eleoncio Mercedes.

"In college, you don't play a lot of games, and to have this experience is huge," Bice-Peace men's basketball head coach Charlie Henry said. "Getting our new guys a chance to play with our returners and learn our system is another big part. I just wanted to see them do what we've been working on all summer."

Looking to blend the returning core with the new players, the Eagles excelled at that, getting 51 points from seven returnees and 60 from their newcomers. All 12 players who appeared in the game scored, while freshman Micah Smith and seniors Tyler Bush and Luke Keller did not play.

Leading the Eagles in scoring was freshman Braylhan Thomas, who in his first experience at Georgia Southern scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds on 7-14 shooting.

"I knew my time was coming, but early on, I was focused on being a good teammate," Thomas said. "There were definitely some nerves at first, but once I saw that first shot go in, I locked in and the rest came easy."

Five other Eagles scored in double figures, with Bradley Douglas (14), Dontae Horne (13), Avantae Parker (12), Eren Banks (11) and Nate Brafford (11) joining in the fun.

Thomas' eight rebounds led the way, while Tyson Brown, Brafford and Collin Kuhl each recorded seven boards. Banks led the Eagles with eight assists in the romp.

The game was played under FIBA rules, including four 10-minute quarters instead of two 20-minute halves.

The Eagles led 57-25 at half and pushed that to 82-43 by the end of the third quarter.

GS will have another day to prepare before taking on the Dominican Republic U22 team on Friday.