The Georgia Southern Eagles have finally gained a little bit of momentum after back-to-back conference wins.
    With one regular-season game remaining, GSU runs into a team that has payback in mind.
    The Davidson Wildcats have rattled off 13-straight wins since losing to the Eagles on Jan. 14, in Hanner Fieldhouse, and they get a shot at revenge today at their place at 2 p.m.
    The Eagles (13-17, 7-10 Southern Conference) have a shot at their first three-game winning streak of the season after picking up wins against Furman and UNC Greensboro.
    “We need to win,” GSU coach Charlton Young said. “We need to find a way to win on the road. They’re really, really good.”
    The Wildcats (22-7, 16-1) have already wrapped up the No. 1 seed from the South Division of the SoCon, with the GSU loss the only blemish on their conference slate.
    For GSU to have success against the SoCon power, they’ll have to do what’s worked in the last two games — focus on the little things.
    “We’re a streaky shooting team at best, so we can’t hang our hats on whether or not shots are falling,” Young said. “We’ve got to hang our hats on defending and rebounding. When we make shots, it’s going to be a great night, and we’ve got a chance to really beat you. When we don’t make shots, it’s going to be ugly, but it can’t affect our effort when it comes to rebounding and defending. Our guys are figuring that out. It’s all about accepting who you are and accepting your role.”
    The Eagles out-rebounded UNCG, 44-28, in a dominant defensive performance that resulted in a 66-60 win on Wednesday.
    That’s the key, especially when the shots aren’t falling.
    “We need to make a commitment to rebounding. That’s the whole deal with us,” Young said. “When we rebound the ball, we’ve beaten Virginia Tech, Davidson and Charleston. When we don’t rebound the ball, we’ve had some tough, tough losses.”
    The Eagles are down in numbers, too. Eric Ferguson, the team’s leader in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals, has come off the bench in four-straight games and has played limited minutes due to a nagging knee injury.
    “He has to get fluid taken out of his knee about every week and a half,” Young said.
    Cameron Baskerville, a forward who has started only 16 of GSU’s 30 games, responded to that with a double-double at UNCG (19 points, 11 rebounds).
    Point guard Brian Holmes is also out with an injury he suffered in a Feb. 23 win against Furman. The injury likely ended his season.
    C.J. Reed picked up the slack with 23 points and nine rebounds against UNCG.
    The makeshift starting five against Davidson is expected to be Reed, Tre Bussey, Cleon Roberts, Baskerville and Marvin Baynham.
    In the last game, those starters combined for 40 rebounds and 61 points in the 66-60 win.
    “If we can just keep doing that, we’ve got a chance to do something special in Asheville (in the SoCon tournament),” Young said.
    The SoCon tournament begins on Friday at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C.
    Depending on what unfolds across the SoCon on the final weekend of the regular season, the Eagles will be seeded either seventh, eighth or ninth.

    Matt Yogus may be reached at (912) 489-9408.