GEORGIA SOUTHERN 68, STETSON 55
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. --- The Georgia Southern men’s basketball team held Stetson to 33.9 percent shooting for the game and freshman Willie Powers (Gainesville, Fla.) scored a game-high 16 points in the Eagles’ 68-55 victory Sunday night at the Glenn Wilkes Classic.
The Eagles win all three in Daytona Beach to improve to 3-1 overall. The Hatters drop to 1-4.
“I knew it would be that type of game, a grind-it-out type of game,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “I thought our change in defense was really effective and we rebounded really well. We beat them pretty good on the glass which we were supposed to do.”
The tide turned late in the first half when GSU closed out the period with a 9-2 run, capped off with a 3-pointer by freshman Antoine Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.). SU went without a field goal for the final 3:19.
That momentum continued into the second half. Stetson missed its first five shots of the half and Georgia Southern opened with seven straight points to lead by 13.
“We started playing some zone,” Price said about the halftime adjustments. “We were playing zone to alleviate our foul trouble. We got into serious foul trouble with them driving the ball. I thought the zone was really effective. Our guys did a good job ? our zone got a little stagnant and they cut to five or six ? and we went into our full-court press and got it back up to 13 or so. The bottom line is, we held another team to 34 percent and that’s why we’re winning games.”
Senior Louis Graham (West Palm Beach, Fla.), who tied the school’s single-game shot-blocking record with six, was named to the All-Tournament Team.
“Whenever you have a guy that blocks shots like that inside, it really makes your perimeter players feel more comfortable to get out and pressure the ball and do some things,” said Price. “It’s been impressive for him to do that and stay out of foul trouble.”
The Eagles placed three players in double-figure scoring. In addition to Powers’ 16, senior Dwayne Foreman (Apopka, Fla.) scored 11, nine in the second half, and junior Julian Allen (Waterbury, Conn.) added 10. Foreman also dished out a game-best seven assists.
Powers has scored at least 10 points in all four games this season. The freshman shot 6-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-6 from behind the 3-point line.
“He’s getting a lot of minutes and we wanted that as a freshman,” said Price. “The more he gets, the better he’ll get and I thought he had a great tournament.”
Garfield Blair tallied 13 points for the Hatters. Eric Diaz and A.J. Smith scored 11 and 10, respectively.
The two teams alternated big scoring runs in the first half. Georgia Southern broke a 7-7 tie with a 9-0 run, the final points coming from senior Anthony Marshall (Lake Worth, Fla.) at the 11:49 mark. Stetson then took the lead with a 11-0 rally, holding GSU scoreless for 5:51.
HOUSTON 84, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 69
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - Robert McKiver scored 37 points while teammate Dion Dowell added 16 points as Houston downed the College of Charleston, 84-69, in the final day of action in the O'Reilly Auto Parts ESPNU Puerto Rico Tipoff on Sunday.
With the win, Houston improved to 3-1 while Charleston, which plays at Fordham at 1:00 on Saturday, is 1-3.
McKiver hit 12-of-25 field goals, including 9-of-20 from 3-point land and 4-of-5 free throws. It was the most points scored against Charleston since Keydren Clark poured in 43 points for St. Peter's in Charleston's 85-80 win on Dec. 30, 1004
For Charleston, Tony White, Jr. had a career-high 19 points and a career-best five 3-pointers. Freshman Andrew Goudelock added 12 points off the bench.
"I knew we had to make plays either shooting or distributing the ball," said White, who hit 5-of-7 3-pointers. "I had time to get my shot off because my teammates were able to get me the ball."
"This was a wonderful tournament and we learned alot about our team," said Charleston coach Bobby Cremins. "We're still not where I want us to be but we came to San Juan and got one of the most memorable wins in school history over a very good Temple team. Houston has a great team with super guards who play very physical.