GEORGIA SOUTHERN 101, FLAGLER 67
STATESBORO, GA. --- Senior Jimmy Tobias (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) scored a career high 22 points and the Georgia Southern men’s basketball team broke the 100-point barrier for the second time this season in a 101-67 victory over Flagler Tuesday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
GSU (6-3) shot a season-best 57.3 percent from the floor in just its second home game of the year and the first since Nov. 25.
“It’s good to be back because we usually shoot well in here,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “A lot of the field goal percentage was because we did a good job getting the ball inside. We tried to make a concentrated effort of continuing to pound it in there, and I thought for the most part our guards did a nice job of getting it inside.”
The Eagles had four in double-figures, led by Tobias. He was joined by senior Donte Gennie (Tallahassee, Fla.) who posted 14, and juniors Louis Graham (West Palm Beach, Fla.) and Matt Fields (Jacksonville, Fla.) who each had a double-double. Graham notched 11 points and 11 boards while Fields chipped in with 10 and 10.
Tobias shot 10-for-11 from the floor for 90.9 percent, which is second-best in school history.
Junior Dwayne Foreman (Apopka, Fla.) dished out a game-high eight assists and had zero turnovers.
Twelve different Eagles (all but one) scored at least two points.
Flagler (4-5) was led by Sam Jozenville who recorded 16 points. J.P. Clark added 14 off the bench and Ben De La Cruz tallied 10.
Georgia Southern used its considerable advantage in the low post, scoring 52 of its points in the paint, and outrebounding Flagler 53-30.
“We talked about putting more of a focus on rebounding the ball and for the most part I thought it was good except for a couple of stretches,” said Price. “It’s always good to see us shoot the ball well. I thought we played really hard and played together - we had 27 assists off 43 field goals. The two things I ask of this team is to play hard and play together and we did those two things.”
The Saints, a provisional member of NCAA Division II, kept it close in the early going and trailed 12-11 with five minutes gone in the game.
Ahead by four (20-16) at the 10-minute mark, Georgia Southern went on a 9-0 run, and following a Flagler basket, reeled off 10 more for a commanding 39-18 advantage. The team went into the half up 45-26.
The lead got as high as 38 in the second period.
Georgia Southern opens Southern Conference play Saturday with a clash at Appalachian State. Tip-off, originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m., is now set for 5 p.m.