Southern Conference powerhouse Davidson has one main objective during tonight’s visit to Hanner Fieldhouse: Put the finishing touches on another perfect SoCon season.
First the Wildcats will have to knock off the Eagles, who are eager to regain momentum after back-to-back losses halted a recent six-game winning streak. They’ll look to their seniors, who’ll be honored before their final game in Hanner where the Eagles are 8-1 this year. GSU (20-10, 13-6) has dropped six of the last seven meetings with the Wildcats (22-6, 19-0) and can lock up the No. 3 seed in next week’s SoCon tournament with a win tonight.
“It’s a rivalry game for me,” senior point guard Dwayne Foreman said. “I don’t like Davidson, to be honest with you. Since I’ve been here, they’ve been taking over our league.”
The Eagles know they’ll need a flawless game to pull off the upset, and they’ll have to find a way to revive its defensive effort, particularly along the perimeter. In Thursday’s loss at the College of Charleston, the Cougars rained 12 3s on the Eagles, and Davidson is the second best 3-point shooting team in the league.
Georgia Southern will try to keep close tabs on Wildcat standout Stephen Curry, the SoCon’s leading scorer whose 25 points a game ranks fifth in the nation. The Wildcats are riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 18 games.
“They kind of have an aura about them right now, but we’re not really looking at that right now,” freshman guard Willie Powers said. “We are just trying to get a win. Davidson’s at the top of the pole right now and hasn’t lost a SoCon game, so we’re just trying to be the ones to spoil that and knock them off.”
As for playing for the final time in Hanner, GSU seniors said they’ve thought about it some, but the reality hasn’t sunk in yet.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll be a lot of emotion,” senior Matthew Fields said. “We’re playing against a good team so hopefully the emotion comes out in a good way.”
Is a win over Davidson something the Eagles are capable of pulling off?
“I think we can,” Powers said. “If we come out, do what we’re supposed to, play hard and the crowd is rocking — I think we can get a win over Davidson.”
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
First the Wildcats will have to knock off the Eagles, who are eager to regain momentum after back-to-back losses halted a recent six-game winning streak. They’ll look to their seniors, who’ll be honored before their final game in Hanner where the Eagles are 8-1 this year. GSU (20-10, 13-6) has dropped six of the last seven meetings with the Wildcats (22-6, 19-0) and can lock up the No. 3 seed in next week’s SoCon tournament with a win tonight.
“It’s a rivalry game for me,” senior point guard Dwayne Foreman said. “I don’t like Davidson, to be honest with you. Since I’ve been here, they’ve been taking over our league.”
The Eagles know they’ll need a flawless game to pull off the upset, and they’ll have to find a way to revive its defensive effort, particularly along the perimeter. In Thursday’s loss at the College of Charleston, the Cougars rained 12 3s on the Eagles, and Davidson is the second best 3-point shooting team in the league.
Georgia Southern will try to keep close tabs on Wildcat standout Stephen Curry, the SoCon’s leading scorer whose 25 points a game ranks fifth in the nation. The Wildcats are riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 18 games.
“They kind of have an aura about them right now, but we’re not really looking at that right now,” freshman guard Willie Powers said. “We are just trying to get a win. Davidson’s at the top of the pole right now and hasn’t lost a SoCon game, so we’re just trying to be the ones to spoil that and knock them off.”
As for playing for the final time in Hanner, GSU seniors said they’ve thought about it some, but the reality hasn’t sunk in yet.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll be a lot of emotion,” senior Matthew Fields said. “We’re playing against a good team so hopefully the emotion comes out in a good way.”
Is a win over Davidson something the Eagles are capable of pulling off?
“I think we can,” Powers said. “If we come out, do what we’re supposed to, play hard and the crowd is rocking — I think we can get a win over Davidson.”
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
