STATESBORO, Ga. --- Thirteen different players scored for Georgia Southern who used a 43-19 halftime advantage to cruise 82-51 over No. 25 Asbury Thursday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
GSU heads into the Christmas break with an 8-2 record, the program’s best start since the 1985-86 season. Asbury, a member of NAIA Division II, drops to 9-4.
“I told our guys after the game I was really proud of what they’ve accomplished this first semester,” said GSU head coach
Jeff Price. “We’re 8-2 and there’s no doubt we should be 9-1. We let one get away on Saturday. (It was) a pretty positive first semester and we’ve got to keep the momentum going.”
Senior
Anthony Marshall (Lake Worth, Fla.) and freshman
Willie Powers (Gainesville, Fla.) led the GSU offense with 11 points apiece. No other player scored in double-figures.
A balanced rebounding effort saw Georgia Southern win the battle of the boards 48-31. All 15 Eagle players who suited up saw game action.
“It’s good to give everybody an opportunity to play in some games - guys that work hard everyday in practice,” said Price. “A lot of those guys we’re preparing to get better for the future and some of them for this season. It’s important that everybody got a chance to play.”
Georgia Southern shot a season-high 83.3% (10-for-12) from the free throw line, one game after hitting just five of 13 in a three-point loss to Florida Saturday.
“I thought (our free throw percentage) was important,” said Price. “Those are more of a mental thing and a confidence thing and I told some folks that it would be important to shoot the ball well from the free throw line. It was good to see us make our free throws.”
GSU used a 25-4 run mid-way through the first half to stretch open a 10-7 game into a 35-11 rout. The Eagles forced six turnovers during that stretch and 24 overall.
“I thought (our defense) was really good,” said Price. “The press really pulled the game away in the first half. It was 12-7 when we went to the press and they really struggled with it. Our defensive rebounding has been good all year. We need to keep it that way.”
Asbury’s
Brett Johnson led all scorers with 18 and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Georgia Southern returns to action Dec. 28 at the Flint Hills Resources/Islander Invitational hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
