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Eagles go for second straight
GSU hopes for revenge against UNCG
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    Having successfully ended their four-game losing streak with a 68-67 win at Elon, the Eagles turn around and take on one of the hottest teams in the Southern Conference, UNC Greensboro.
    Georgia Southern (10-10, 3-6 SoCon) narrowly held on Saturday in edging Elon, GSU’s first true road win since defeating Winston-Salem State on Dec. 2, a span of six games.
    “I felt like if we found a way to win a close game it might jumpstart us a little bit and get us going,” said head coach Jeff Price.  “We’ll find out today whether or not that’s true.  I certainly felt like it was good for our confidence to win a close game on the road.  We’ve lost several close ones so it was good to win a close one.”
    UNCG (11-9, 8-2 SoCon) is tied at the top of the SoCon North standings with Appalachian State and has won five straight league contests.
    The Spartans defeated Furman Saturday 69-54 thanks to strong second half performances from Ricky Hickman and Kyle Hines who scored all 36 of
UNCG’s points in the final 20 minutes.  The duo had success in the first GSU-UNCG meeting Dec. 30, combining for 38 points.
    “I think everyone battles that each game with them,” Price added.  “It’s hard to focus on both, but obviously those are two guys that we need to focus on and find a way to stop.  You’re not going to completely stop them but if you can limit their numbers somewhat, then you’re going to have a chance to win.”
    Hines, a potential All-American and leading SoCon Player of the Year candidate, tops the conference in scoring (21.8 ppg), rebounding (9.7 rpg) and blocks (2.40 bpg).          He has been just as deadly against league competition, averaging a double-double per outing (20.7 points, 10.0
rebounds).
    The last meeting was one to forget for the Eagles, who suffered the worst home loss ever under Price and scored just 12 points in the second half after going over 14 minutes without a field goal.
    Since he was held to seven points at the College of Charleston, senior Donte Gennie has responded with 19 points vs. Davidson and a team-high 20 points at Elon.  In the month of January he is averaging 18.5 points and 3.1 3-pointers per contest.  He led the team with 17 points against UNCG in December.
45th Schenkel Invitational tees off
Schenkel Invitational
Three-year old Thompson Reddick works with Georgia Southern golfer Eddie Cereto on his short game at the annual Schenkel Youth Clinic Wednesday at Forest Heights Country Club. - photo by JOSH AUBREY/staff

Some of the top golf programs in the country will converge on Statesboro this week as the 45th annual Schenkel Invitational tees off Friday morning at Forest Heights Country Club.


The Georgia Southern Eagles have four team titles and would like to keep the trophy in Statesboro this year. The Eagles have played a tough schedule coming in and are coming off an 8th place finish at the Johnnie-O at Sea Island which wrapped up Tuesday.


“I feel like we come into this week battle tested,” said Eagle head coach Carter Collins. “Our guys have been really solid. This is the best week of the year for us and is one of the reasons some of these guys came to Georgia Southern to play golf. It is one of the reasons I have had so much fun being here because the community really gets behind this thing. To be able to do this against the competition level we will see this week makes it even more special.”


The Eagle golfers are anxious to get things underway as well and want to be able to continue the tradition of excellence they have seen from the teams of the past.


“There is definitely nothing like this tournament this week,” said Eagle senior Brantley Baker. “It is just so cool to have the whole community behind us. Home field advantage always helps. It looks great out here and all the greens are in good shape. We are excited about starting Friday.”


“It’s always a special week out here as the Schenkel is one of the best college tournaments in the country,” said Eagle senior Hogan Ingram. “These greens can get tricky but the good thing is we know it better than anybody and that gives us a huge advantage. This team is phenomenal and I feel like we can easily win it, we just have to play solid, consistent golf and we expect to be on top of that leaderboard.”


The Schenkel tees off Friday morning at Forest Heights Country Club and is free and open to the public. The Eagles match up with Wisconsin and Notre Dame, with the first groups teeing off at 9:45 a.m.