January 13, 2010 Alex Brown Tailgate Tattler

abrown6182@yahoo.com

    Welcome to Spring semester, Tattler Nation. Now I know all who read my weekly ramblings are not in school, but everybody in this area is definitely impacted when school is in. The roads are busier, the restaurants are full, and the lines at Wal-Mart are noticeably longer. And count your Tattler as one non-student who loves having everyone back in town. But enough about that – let’s talk basketball.
    This is the time of year when basketball really gets rolling. Before Christmas, it just doesn’t seem like it’s quite basketball season for a lot of folks. I guess much of that sentiment can be attributed to the fact that we live in football country. And now that football has come to an end and the weather is absolutely frigid, it’s time to move indoors to the hardwood.
    Now is when we see Hanner really come alive and the crowds at basketball games seem to really pick up. The games over the break just don’t seem to have the same atmosphere because the band, cheerleaders, and Gus aren’t there. Neither are the students. So home games from here on out will be a welcome sight for the Tattler.
    There’s something about having the band and cheerleaders there that add so much to the game atmosphere. And having a rowdy student section is the main ingredient that gives Hanner its electric environment and makes it such a tough place for opposing teams to play. So let’s see what you got, Hooligans.
    Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams are in the midst of a crucial stretch of games. The Lady Eagles hosted first-place College of Charleston on Saturday after dropping a nail-biter on the road to perennial powerhouse Chattanoooga last Monday. Although Southern led much of the game—including a ten point advantage with 11 minutes remaining—Charleston mounted a late comeback to steal a 57-53 win at Hanner.
    On Monday, the Lady Eagles found themselves in yet another close battle with Furman. Trailing 29-22 at halftime, the Lady Eagles opened the second half with an 11-2 run to take the lead and neither team led by more than five points the rest of the way. Regulation ended with the score knotted at 45, but overtime saw Georgia Southern outscore the Paladins 9-5 and hold on for a 54-50 win. J’Lisia Ogburn led the Lady Eagles with 16 points and four blocks. Next up for the ladies is a Saturday afternoon showdown at Wofford. They return home on Monday to face Davidson.
    Meanwhile, the guys’ struggles continued last Wednesday night with a 75-63 loss to Chattanooga. The Eagles had a dismal night offensively while the Mocs’ Ty Patterson couldn’t miss from three point land. Patterson led UTC with 25 points including a scorching 7 of 9 from behind the arc. Meanwhile the Eagles shot just 34 percent, but Willie Powers had a big second half and finished with 25 points of his own.
    On paper, things didn’t figure to get any better for Georgia Southern with Western Carolina coming to town on Saturday, but the Eagles’ jumped out to an early lead and held on to beat the top team in the Southern Conference 81-76. It was the Eagles’ first conference win of the season and just the third loss of the year for Western.
    Their other two losses? Clemson and Texas. Oh yeah, and they beat Louisville. Our Eagles beat a good team on Saturday.
    Georgia Southern will travel to upstate South Carolina this weekend to face Wofford and Furman on Thursday and Saturday. The Eagles return home Wednesday to host Appalachian State.
    Now would be a great time to get this thing rolling.

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