ELON, N.C. — Behind a superb effort from Eric Ferguson, Georgia Southern's men’s basketball team improved to 3-0 in Southern Conference play with a 69-63 victory over Elon on Thursday night.
    The victory snapped GSU's 26-game road losing streak and handed the Phoenix their first home loss this season.
    “We have been a bunch of road warriors this season and I’m glad that those tough nights out on the road have paid off with a win tonight,” GSU head coach Charlton Young said. “Today we played with some heart to get back in the game after falling behind early. With about 10 minutes left I looked over at our coaching staff and said we were going to win. I’m very proud of the way our guys took control of the game in the later minutes.”
    Ferguson finished the night with a season-high 21 points and a career-best 14 rebounds for his fourth career double-double and second this season. The sophomore forward also grabbed a team-high three steals.
    Senior Ben Drayton III scored 17 points, and Willie Powers III added 16 points and six assists.
    The Eagles opened the night with a uncharacteristically low 23.5-percent shooting from the field in the first half and trailed, 30-22, at halftime. Elon needed a 3-pointer at the horn to extend its lead to eight points. In the opening period, Elon led by as many as 13 points.
    Out of the break, Elon extended its lead to 14 points before GSU mounted a charge.
    A jumper by Ferguson in the post at 4:32 gave GSU its first lead since the early minutes, 56-55.
    A three-point play and a conventional 3-pointer from Elon cut GSU's lead to two points with 33 seconds remaining. But that was as close as Elon would get with the Eagles.