SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Georgia Southern’s Eric Ferguson and Willie Powers III picked up All-Southern Conference Media Team honors Wednesday as announced by the league office.
    Ferguson backed up his All-SoCon Coaches Team selection Tuesday with first team honors, while Powers was selected to the third team media team for the second time in his career.
    Ferguson, a native of Statesboro, built upon a strong first year to lead the Eagles to the second-biggest turnaround in league history. Scoring 14.8 points per game this season, Ferguson led the Eagles offensively. He was an All-SoCon Freshman selection a year ago and finished the 2011-12 regular season with double-figure scoring in 16 of the last 18 games of the season.
    Powers, a senior from Gainesville, Fla., enters the final weeks of his collegiate career as one of the best point guards to play at GSU. He earned his second All-SoCon Media Team award, earning the plaudit at the end of his junior season as well. Powers ranks 41st nationally in assists (5.4 per game) and has 1,309 career points to rank 22nd all-time at GSU.
    Recently, Ferguson was named SoCon Player of the Year by RushTheCourt.net, while GSU head coach Charlton Young was named SoCon Coach of the Year by the blog. CollegeHoops.net also ranked Ferguson on its All-SoCon Team.
    The Eagles will play in the 2012 SoCon Tournament at U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C., at 8:30 p.m. Friday against Chattanooga.
    Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS.
    The SoCon Sports Media Association selected Davidson junior Jake Cohen was chosen as the Malcolm U. Pitt Player of the Year.
    UNCG’s Wes Miller was named the league’s Anton Foy Coach of the Year, while Wofford’s Karl Cochran was named the Freshman of the Year.
    Cohen turned in a strong all-around season for the Wildcats. The junior from Berwyn, Pa., ranks 10th in the league in scoring (13.9 ppg), 11th in rebounding (6.0 rpg), 12th in field goal percentage (.477), second in free-throw shooting (.878) and leads the league in blocked shots (1.5 bpg). Davidson won its 11th division crown with a 16-2 mark in league play. Cohen started in 28 of Davidson’s 29 games and finished the regular season with seven games of at least 20 points, and four games of at least 10 rebounds.
    Miller was elevated to interim head coach at UNCG on Dec. 13. The youngest NCAA Division I head coach in the country at 29 years old, Miller led the Spartans to a 10-8 record in the SoCon and captured the North Division championship, marking the first time the Spartans have won the division outright. UNCG’s 10 league wins was its highest win total in conference play since the 2008 season. The Spartans strung together seven consecutive wins from mid-January into early February as part of their run during the second half of the season.     
    The league’s media association also selected three all-conference teams. Cohen earned first team honors along with teammate De’Mon Brooks. They were joined by GSU's Eric Ferguson, Trevis Simpson (UNCG) and Brad Loesing (Wofford) on the first team.
    Mike Groselle (The Citadel), Andrew Lawrence (College of Charleston), Antwaine Wiggins (College of Charleston), Jack Isenbarger (Elon) and Kevin Giltner (Wofford) were named to the league’s second team.
    The all-conference third team consists of Trent Wiedeman (College of Charleston), Nik Cochran (Davidson), GSU's Powers, Derrell Armstrong (UNCG) and Drew Windler (Samford).
    In voting that mirrored the coaches selection Tuesday, Wofford’s Karl Cochran was named the league’s Freshman of the Year. A starter in 25 of Wofford’s 31 games, Cochran was third on the team in scoring and led all SoCon freshmen with 11.2 points per game. Cochran also led the Terriers and ranked eighth in the league in steals (1.4 spg).
    The 2012 SoCon Basketball Tournament begins Friday at U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, N.C. The championship game will be played at 9 p.m. Monday and will be televised by ESPN2.