Georgia Southern’s Julius Jenkins poured in 26 points, Todd Shipley scored 24 off the bench and Sean Peterson tied a school record with 16 assists as the Eagles used a three-point barrage to knock off North Division leader ETSU 98-79 Saturday afternoon in a Southern Conference matchup at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.
Jenkins tallied 20 first-half points, including the first 10 points of the game, as Georgia Southern jumped out in front and never trailed.
The Eagles opened up as much as a 10-point lead on Shipley’s three-pointer with 7:27 left in the first half.
ETSU battled back to close within three on Ryan Carson’s layup with 29 seconds remaining, only to have Shipley stretch the Eagles’ advantage back to six at 43-37 with a NBA-range three-pointer at the buzzer.
“When we shoot the ball well, everyone else feeds off it,” Eagles Head Coach Jeff Price said.
“After the game, I told them in the locker room this team never ceases to amaze me. Everyone showed up today.”
After the Buc’s Renaldo Johnson connected on a jumper to start the second half, the eagles got consecutive baskets from Kashien Latham and Kerry Faulk, pushing their lead to nine.
Two Ryan Lawson free throws pulled ETSU to within 53-47 at the 15:51 mark before an 11-2 run gave the Eagles a 64-49 lead with 11:24 left.
The Buccaneers, who entered the game fresh off a 62-47 beating of College of Charleston on Tuesday, never got any closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Peterson’s 16 assists established a new Hanner Fieldhouse record and tied the school’s Division I mark for assists in a game.
Reggie Watson accomplished the feat at Centenary on Jan. 26, 1985.
Shipley connected on six-of-10 three pointers off the bench while Latham posted his 18th career double-double and ninth this season with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Faulk finished with 12 points, all three-pointer and Peterson added 11 points for his second career double-double.
The Eagles’ 98 points, 13 three-pointers and 28 assists were all season highs.
The victory improves the Eagles to 10-13 overall, and 6-6 in the Southern Conference South Division.
ETSU drops to 14-9 overall and 9-3 in the North.
Georgia Southern hits the road Sunday, traveling to Lexington, Va. to take on Virginia Military Institute on Monday night at 7 p.m.
ETSU hosts UNC-Greensboro in a key North Division victory showdown Tuesday at Memorial Center with tip-off slated for 7:30 p.m.
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