Georgia Southern 76, Davidson 73
STATESBORO, Ga.- Georgia Southern had four players score in double figures to lead the Eagles to a 76-73 win over Davidson Tuesday night at Hanner Fieldhouse in front of 4,005 fans. The win guarantees Georgia Southern at least a share of the South Divison title and moves them into sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference heading into the final weekend of regular season action. The 4,005 attendance figure is the 7th largest attendance in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Georgia Southern (19-8, 10-4 SoCon) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with all three points coming from Nesbitt. A Brendan Winters free throw tied the game at 3-3 with 17:36 to play in the opening half before a three pointer by Kenny Grant gave the Wildcats (16-10, 9-5 SoCon) their first lead of the game, 6-3. Davidson extended its lead to 11-7 on a three-pointer by Winters with 15:17 remaining in the half. Nesbitt’s jumper and a pair of free throws by Will Dunn tied the game at 11-11. Davidson went on an 11-5 run over the next five minutes, giving them the 22-16 lead with 9:45 on the clock. The Eagles answered, going on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 22-22 with 8:06 to play. A jumper by Davidson’s Ian Johnson at the 3:17 mark put the Wildcats up for good in the first half. Boris Meno’s jumper with less than a minute remaining in the opening half gave Davidson its largest lead of the half at five, 36-31, but Jimmy Tobias’ three-pointer at the buzzer cut the halftime lead to two at 36- 34 in favor of the Wildcats.
Georgia Southern forced 19 Wildcat turnovers in the first half, turning their miscues into 14 points. Davidson outrebounded the Eagles 18-9 in the opening half and connected on 5-of-9 from behind the arc. The Eagles shot 42.9 percent while Davidson shot 54.2.
The Eagles came out of the lockerroom hot, retaking the lead on a Donte Gennie jumper with 18:30 on the clock. Davidson connected on two straight three-pointers, giving the Wildcats the 42-40 edge with 16:42 to play. The Wildcats took a three point lead on a Johnson trey with 14:07 to play in the game. Georgia Southern answered once again, going on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes and taking a 53-49 lead with under 12 minutes to play in the contest. Davidson did not quit, as the ?Cats put together a 13-2 and retaking the 64-57 lead with 8:30 remaining. Nesbitt came alive in the final five minutes of the game, scoring eight of the Eagles’ final 12 points, including the final three. He had a chance to seal the game for the Eagles with 19 seconds on
the clock, but missed his second free throw, giving Davidson a final chance to tie the game. Both Winters and Grant attempted three-pointers, but could not connect, as Georgia Southern held on for the 76-73 win.
In his final game at Hanner Fieldhouse, Nesbitt, the Southern Conference’s leading scorer led the Eagles with a game-high 23 points. Fellow seniors Sean Olivier and Will Dunn score two points and six points, respectively, in their final home contest in an Eagle uniform. Dwayne Foreman also went for double-digits with 14, while Gennie and Tobias chipped in 13 and 12 respectively.
Ian Johnson led the Wildcats with 14 points including a pair of buckets from long range. Winters finished with 13, Meno added 12 to go along with 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, and Grant recorded 11 points and nine assists.
As a club the Wildcats shot 49.1 percent (26-53) from the floor and connected on 12 of their 27 attempts from beyond the three-point arc. Georgia Southern blistered the nets in the second half, hitting 18-of-32 (.563) to finish the game an even 50 percent from the floor (30-of-60).
The Eagles travel to Greenville, S.C. on Sunday for their final game of the regular season, as they face off against Furman at 2:00 p.m. Georgia Southern needs a win at Furman to clinch the number one seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Tournament. The game will be broadcast on 106.5 FM and 107.3 FM in Statesboro, with the pre-game show with Georgia Southern play-by-play announcer Ricky Ray and color analyst Frank Kerns beginning at 1:45 p.m.
Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information
Western Carolina 67, UNC Greensboro 53
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Three Catamounts scored in double figures, led by 17 points from Antonio Russell, to lead Western Carolina (13-15, 7-6 Southern Conference) to a 67-53 victory over UNC Greensboro (11-16, 4-8) Tuesday night at the Ramsey Activity Center.
Russell, who is Western’s leading scorer for the season, hasn’t been the Catamounts’ game leader in scoring since getting 17 at Mississippi on Jan. 3, a span of 11 games. Joining Russell in double figures were Corey Muirhead with 16 points and Kyle Greathouse with 13 points.
UNCG’s Kyle Hines led all scorers with 21 points, making 9-of-11 shots from the field and 3-of-10 from the free throw line. Ricky Hickman added 16 points. He was 2-of-5 from 3-point range, extending his streak to 23 consecutive games with a 3-pointer to rank as the third-longest span in UNCG history.
In addition to Western out-rebounding the Spartans, 35-26, and shooting 47.1 percent from the field, compared to 42 percent by UNCG, the difference in the game came at the free throw line. Western sank 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) at the line, while the Spartans were just 7-of-20 (35 percent) at the stripe.
After the teams traded baskets to start the game, Greathouse sank a 3-pointer to give Western a 7-4 advantage, a lead it would not surrender the remainder of the contest. From that point, Greathouse would make two more treys and Russell added one during a 12-1 run, putting the Cats up 16-5. Western would keep its advantage around 10 points most of the first half until Hickman’s jumper with 33 seconds left cut UNCG’s deficit to seven (39-32) at the break.
The Spartans built on that momentum to start the second half, getting as close as five twice on a pair of Hines layups. However, David Berghoefer answered for Western each time to keep the Cats up seven. After Berghoefer’s second basket of the half at 18:21, there were only a combined four points scored between the two teams over the next six minutes. Muirhead hit a jumper in the paint at the 16:33 mark and Hines made a layup at the 15:19 mark. Jared Outing broke the drought with two free throws at the 12:17 mark, then made a jumper with 11:38 left.
UNCG made a final push, cutting Western’s lead to seven after a pair of baskets by Hines with 10:12 remaining. However, Russell would make a jumper and later a free throw to put WCU up 10 with 9:09 left. Western would lead by double digits the remainder of the contest.
Russell sank 6-of-12 shots from the field, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, and 3-of-5 at the line. Greathouse’s 13 points, his most since scoring 29 versus UNCG earlier this season (1/16), came by making 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 at the charity stripe. Muirhead added seven rebounds to go along with his 16 points. Negus McKenna contributed eight rebounds and seven points, while Jared Outing came away with three blocked shots.
For the Spartans, Hines had seven rebounds to accompany his 21 points, while Hickman has five boards and three steals.
Western Carolina will return to action Saturday (Feb. 25), playing at Chattanooga in the teams’ regular-season finale. Second place in the SoCon North Division will be at stake as each team sports a 7-6 league mark. Tipoff at The McKenzie Arena is set for 7 pm. UNC Greensboro will have a quick turnaround, playing at Appalachian State on Thursday (Feb. 23) at 7 pm.