Eagles Break School Record, Tie Sun Belt Tournament Record of Threes in Fourth Round Victory

Friday, March 6

Pensacola, Fla.

8:30 PM (ET)

Georgia Southern University

19-15,8-10Sun Belt

South Alabama

21-11,11-7Sun Belt

Ga. Southern

South Alabama

Eagles Break School Record, Tie Sun Belt Tournament Record of Threes in Fourth Round Victory

3/7/2026 12:53:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Georgia Southern men's basketball (19-15, 8-10 SBC) set a new school record with 23 made threes on Friday and tied the Sun Belt Tournament record, en route to downing sixth-seeded South Alabama (21-11, 11-7 SBC), 94-85, at the Pensacola Bay Center.

The win marked the third victory in three days for the Eagles, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament for the first time in the new format and are the most wins in the tournament for the Eagles since joining the Sun Belt.

Redshirt senior Alden Applewhite led the Eagles offensively, tallying 34 points on 11-of-12 shooting, including 8-of-9 from beyond the three-point arch. He added four free throws to set a new career high, a mark he set on Thursday against Arkansas State. Graduate guard, Tyren Moore, added 23 points of his own, while Nakavieon White stepped up and collected 17 points off the bench.

Trailing by three at the half, Georgia Southern posted a 52 percent clip from beyond the arc (13-25) and registered just one two-point attempt. In the second half, Georgia Southern added 10 additional threes to its tally, moving past the January 1, 2005 contest against Chattanooga, where the Eagles hit 22 three-pointers.

The Eagles trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, including down by eight with six and a half minutes remaining, before scoring 32 points over the final six minutes to race past the Jaguars.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both sides traded baskets to begin the contest, as Tyren Moore and Alden Applewhite knocked down three-point opportunities to give the Eagles the lead, 6-4.
Georgia Southern continued to shoot the ball from beyond the arch, hitting 6-of-11 from range to begin the contest, 18-17.
The Eagles poured it on from the three-point line, knocking down 11 threes to take a one-point lead in the final media timeout of the first half, 33-32.
At the break, Georgia Southern tallied 13 three-point baskets, but were whistled for a foul with 0.6 seconds left on the clock, allowing South Alabama to take a three-point lead into the half, 43-40.
The Eagles cut the Jaguars lead down to one, as Tsvet Sotirov drained a three from the corner, 52-51.
South Alabama stretched its lead to the largest of the night, using a 7-0 run over nearly three minutes, 61-53.
Alden Applewhite knocked down his sixth three-pointer of the evening, a new career high, to cut the deficit to five points, 67-62.
The Eagles clawed their way back into the ballgame, as Tyren Moore knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the day, 72-71.
Georgia Southern used an 11-0 run to push the Eagles lead to seven points, after draining the 20th three of the evening, 79-72.
The Eagles went on to score 32 points over the final six minutes to defeat South Alabama, 94-85.

NOTES

The 23 three-pointers made against South Alabama on Friday tied a Sun Belt Tournament single-game record and broke the Georgia Southern single-game record (22). The last time the Eagles made 22-plus three-pointers was January 1, 2005, against Chattanooga.
Redshirt senior Alden Applewhite posted his second consecutive career day, scoring 34 points on 11-of-12 shooting, including an 8-of-9 line from beyond the arc. The eight three-pointers set a new career best, as Applewhite added four points from the free throw stripe.
Since joining the Sun Belt in 2014-15, the Eagles have posted a 46-3 record when scoring 90-plus points in a game and are 11-0 when registering that mark this season.
With three wins in the conference tournament, the Eagles have posted the most wins in program history during tournament time.
The 19 wins on the year are the most for Georgia Southern since the 2019-20 season, when the Eagles posted a 20-13 record. The 19 wins are the most for head coach Charlie Henry in his three seasons in Statesboro.

UP NEXT

Georgia Southern men's basketball continues its Sun Belt Tournament run on Saturday evening, facing off against Coastal Carolina in the quarterfinals. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.