Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Peterson Honored As Eagle's MVP

STATESBORO, Ga. Junior point guard Sean Peterson, who led Georgia Southern in assists and steals and ranked second on the team in scoring, was named the Most Valuable Player for the 2000-01 season at the annual Tip-Off Club Awards Banquet, held Wednesday night at R.J.'s Steakhouse.

Peterson, who led the Southern Conference in assists and ranked 16th in the nation, engineered a late-season charge in which the Eagles won eight of their last 12 games. Peterson saved his best for last, scoring 54 points, dishing out 16 assists and collecting 11 steals over a three-game stretch in the Southern Conference Tournament, as the Eagles advanced to the tourney semifinals for the first time since 1994. His seven-steal effort against VMI in the tourney's opening-round game tied a school record.

Peterson, one of seven Eagles honored at the awards banquet, also received awards for his selection to the all-tournament team (first team) and for player-of-the-week.

Julius Jenkins, who became the first sophomore to lead the Eagles in scoring (16.7 ppg.) since Kevin Anderson in 1976-77, was presented the team's best defensive player award, and also received a pair of all-conference awards (first team, coaches; second team, SoCon Sports Media Association) as well as a player-of-the-week award.

Junior forward Kashien Latham, the team's top rebounder and third-leading scorer, was presented with his SoCon all-tournament team award as well as a pair of all-Southern Conference awards as well. (first team, coaches; second team, SoCon Sports Media Association). Latham ranked second in the SoCon and 15th in the nation in rebounding at 9.7 rpg. and his 291 rebounds were the most by a Georgia Southern player since the 1969-70 season.

Senior guard Todd Shipley was honored as the squad's most improved player. Shipley finished his Eagle career as the fifth-leading three-point shooter in school history, and improved his scoring average from 7.5 ppg. as a junior to 9.4 as a senior. His shooting percentages jumped from .327 (total field goals) and .338 (three-pointers) as a junior to .399 (total) and .380 (three-pointers), respectively, as a senior.

Other team members receiving awards included Frank Bennett (Southern Conference All-Freshman team), freshman Kenny Faulk (3.0 club for Fall, 2000 semester) and senior Greg Spurgeon (Dean's List, Fall, 2000 semester).

In two seasons under head coach Jeff Price, the Eagles have posted 31 victories, the most wins over a two-year span since the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons.