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Georgia Southern schedule/results
Game facts
Georgia Southern (0-0) at NC State (0-0)
Game time: Friday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m. — PNC Arena in Raleigh
Television: ACC Network extra
Probable starters
NC State
PG — 4 Dennis Smith (6-3, 195, Fr., redshirted)
SG — 3 Terry Henderson (6-5, 190, R-Sr., redshirted)
SF — 24 Maverick Rowan (6-7, 220, Soph., 12.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.7 apg)
F — 2 Torin Dorn (6-5, 208, R-Soph., redshirted)
C — 0 Abdul-Malik Abu (6-8, 240, Jr., 12.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.3 apg)
Georgia Southern
PG — 4 Tookie Brown (5-11, 180, Soph., 17.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.6 spg)
SG — 3 Ike Smith (6-4, 195, Soph., 11.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.1 apg)
G — 1 Devonte Boykins (6-2, 180, Jr., 5.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.8 apg)
PF — 11 Shawn O’Connell (6-8, 210, Soph., 3.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.4 apg)
C — 0 Montae Glenn (6-8, 230, Soph., 4.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.2 apg)
Georgia Southern
Location: Statesboro, Ga.
Nickname: Eagles
2015-16 record: 14-17 overall, 10-10 Sun Belt)
2016 postseason: None
Coach: Mark Byington 59-48 overall (fourth year) and 51-44 at Georgia Southern (third year)
Notes
Georgia Southern overview: Georgia Southern went through a youth movement with numerous freshman and sophomores in the lineup last year.
The Eagles were sitting at 6-11 overall and 2-5 in the Sun Belt following an overtime loss to Georgia State on Jan. 19. Georgia Southern went 8-6 from that point on.
Four of the Georgia Southern players hail from the state of North Carolina. Junior shooting guard Mike Hughes and junior power forward Coye Simmons were teammates at Winston-Salem Prep, point guard DeVonte Boykins attended Bostic East Rutherford High and junior forward B.J. Gladden attended Charlotte Olympic. A fifth player, Charlotte native Jared Hamilton, is sitting out this season as a Jacksonville State transfer. He is the older brother of NC State junior forward target Jairus Hamilton of Concord (N.C.) Cannon School.
Backcourt: Georgia Southern has four guards who started at least 10 games last year. Point guard Tookie Brown originally committed to Mississippi State, but ended up at GSU following a coaching change in Starkville, Miss.
Brown didn’t take long to show he would be the Eagles’ catalyst. He scored at least 20 points in 10 games, including a career-high 34 points in a 101-100 win at Appalachian State on Jan. 25. He shot 43.4 percent from the field and 37.3 percent on three-pointers. Brown had just two games where he didn’t crack double figures, and he dished out seven assists in three different contests.
Brown and fellow sophomore Ike Smith combined for 29.5 points per game as freshman. Smith shot 33.1 percent from three-point land, but just 37.6 percent from the field. He topped 20 points in three games, and had a season-high 23 in a 69-66 overtime loss at Georgia State on Jan. 19. He had at least three three-pointers in eight games, and drained all four attempts from beyond the arc in a 88-63 win over Appalachian State on Feb. 25.
Smith proved a capable rebounder, grabbing at least seven boards in seven games. He had a double-double to end the year, with 15 points and 10 rebounds in a Sun Belt Tournament 67-61 loss to South Alabama on March 10.
Boykins started the last exhibition game, but Hughes logged 29 starts last year. The two North Carolina products are different guards.
Boykins, who is the younger brother of DeVince Boykins, who played three years at Marshall before finishing up at Georgia Southern, was on pace for an impressive prep career at point guard. He ended up injuring his knee prior to his junior year, which affected his recruitment.
Boykins logged 10 starts last year, and he shot 35.7 percent from the field and 26.2 percent on three-pointers. He cracked double figures in six games, with a season-high 15 in the first win over Appalachian State.
Hughes is a gifted athlete at 6-3 and 190 pounds, and he was second on the team with 14.9 points per contest, plus 4.7 rebounds a game. He shot 43.3 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Hughes scored over 20 points in eight games, with 24 points apiece at Texas-Arlington on Jan. 2 and again at Louisiana-Monroe on March 3. He drained 5 of 8 three-pointers against UL-M. He reached double figures in his last 17 games.
Junior Jake Allsmiller started 23 of 31 games last year, and averaged 7.8 points per game and shot 33.0 percent on three-pointers. Only 24 out of his 221 field-goal attempts came in two-point range. Allsmiller pumped in 29 points and went 8 of 15 from three-point land at South Alabama in a 80-76 loss Feb. 13.
Freshman wing Quan Jackson, who is 6-4 and 180 pounds provides depth.
Frontcourt: Sophomores Shawn O’Connell and Montae Glenn started the exhibition game against Lees-McRae on Nov. 3, and the Eagles have two other players in the mix.
O’Connell has reportedly made big strides since last year, while Glenn has slimmed down to 230 pounds. O’Connell averaged 3.0 points 3.3 rebounds per game, and shot 54.5 percent from the field. He scored 10 points in three different games, and grabbed eight rebounds twice.
Glenn had similar numbers, averaging 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game last year. He shot 59 percent from the field, and cracked double figures in two contests. He had 11 points and seven rebounds against The Citadel on Nov. 25, and 10 points and eight rebounds vs. Arkansas State on Feb. 18.
The 6-8, 240-pound Simmons started 20 games last year, and averaged 3.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He opened last year with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Webber International on Nov. 13, 2015, and had 10 points against Troy on Jan. 9. He grabbed at least seven rebounds in 10 games, and reaching at least 10 in three contests.
The 6-6, 210-pound Gladden is a physical forward, who started his college career at Akron. He averaged 11.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game last year at Eastern Florida Junior College.