GEORGIA SOUTHERN (2-2)
Ferguson 3-7 5-8 11, Baynham 0-1 2-2 2, Roberts 5-9 0-0 12, Bussey 3-9 0-0 8, Reed 3-7 0-0 9, Pernell 1-5 2-2 5, Mike 1-1 0-0 2, Holmes 1-1 1-2 3, Baskerville 4-4 0-0 8, Dunnican 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-46 10-14 62.
KENNESAW ST. (1-5)
Cummings 8-12 4-5 22, Anderson 2-4 1-2 5, Osemhen 0-2 3-4 3, Love 2-5 0-0 6, Brown 0-4 0-1 0, Hamilton 1-5 2-2 4, Pruitt 1-4 0-0 2, Hobbs 0-1 0-0 0, Dawson 1-3 2-3 4. Totals 15-40 12-17 46.
Halftime_Kennesaw St. 25-24. 3-Point Goals_Georgia Southern 8-19 (Reed 3-4, Roberts 2-4, Bussey 2-5, Pernell 1-4, Ferguson 0-2), Kennesaw St. 4-16 (Love 2-4, Cummings 2-5, Hobbs 0-1, Brown 0-1, Pruitt 0-2, Hamilton 0-3). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Georgia Southern 29 (Baskerville 9), Kennesaw St. 26 (Anderson 7). Assists_Georgia Southern 10 (Holmes 3), Kennesaw St. 8 (Hamilton, Love 3). Total Fouls_Georgia Southern 18, Kennesaw St. 15. A_1,036.
KENNESAW, GA. – Georgia Southern took a much-needed road victory with a 62-46 win over Kennesaw State on Wednesday night inside the KSU Convocation Center. The Eagles trailed by one at the interval, but answered the bell in the second half, shooting 58.3 percent from the field in the final stanza to earn the program’s first win over the Owls on the hardwood.
“I was very proud of our team effort tonight,” said head coach Charlton Young. “We did a great job contesting every shot and we improved on some of the areas we have been deficient in. We’re starting to figure out who we are as a team and a lot of our guys that have been banged have gotten back to practice and performed very well for us.”
The victory takes the Eagles to 2-2 on the year entering Saturday’s contest at Maryland. The Owls are 1-4 on the year and host Chattanooga after the Thanksgiving break.
Cleon Roberts scored 10 points with a pair of steals in 29 minutes of work. He made a pair of three-pointers on the night as the Eagles shot 60% from downtown in the second half and posted a 47.8-percent mark from the field overall. It was his fourth double-figure scoring game to start his career with the Eagles.
Junior Eric Ferguson scored 15 points with seven rebounds for his seventh-consecutive night in double-figures. The Statesboro native played 32 minutes and tallied a block and a steal as well.
Both the Eagles’ seniors had solid nights with C.J. Reed scoring nine points, making three buckets from downtown in the second half. Cameron Baskerville led the Eagles with nine rebounds and chipped in eight points on the game. Tre Bussey scored eight points with a pair of three-balls.
The Owls led 25-24 at the intermission behind 16 points from Kennesaw State’s all-time leading scorer, Markeith Cummings. He went on to finish the game with 22 points
Out of the break, GSU continued its run to close the opening period and took its first lead of the game with 19:07 remaining on a three-pointer from Reed. GSU strung the lead out to seven points, 39-32, with 13:55 left.
GSU’s hot shooting from the bonusphere in the second half continued throughout the second half, giving the Eagles its largest lead of the night, 18 points, with 7:44 left. The Owls made a small run to cut the lead back to 14 points at the 2:58 mark.
The Eagles, however, closed out the evening strong by extending the advantage back to 18 points inside the final two minutes.
The win for the Eagles was the first non-conference road victory since December 2nd, 2006 when the Eagles trumped Winston-Salem State on Tobacco Road.
After the Thanksgiving break, Georgia Southern faces Maryland to close an eventful week for the Terrapins. Saturday’s game from College Park starts at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.com.
