Dec. 29, 2003
Box Score
Contact: Brian McCann
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Frank Bennett scored 22 points, including 18 in the second half, as Georgia Southern upended Cleveland State, 79-64, in the opening round of the Flint Hills Resources Islander Classic, hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Jermaine Robinson led the Vikings with 24 points, marking the ninth time in 10 games this year that he has led the team in scoring. Walt Chavis made all four three-point field goal attempts for 12 points and Omari Westley finished with nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Vikings (4-6) have now dropped four straight games since opening the year with four wins in their first six games. CSU will play Drake (3-5) in the consolation game of the tournament on Tuesday (Dec. 29) at 5 p.m. CST. Drake lost to the host Islanders, 78-72.
Cleveland State played short-handed as reserve centers Walt Waters and Pete Ritzema did not make the trip. Ritzema suffered a back injury over the short Christmas break and stayed in Cleveland to receive treatment while Waters remained in Detroit following the death of a relative. Both players will rejoin the team on Dec. 31 when it returns to Cleveland.
The front line received another blow early in the game when 6-11 center Pape Badiane, who started the first nine games of the year, left the contest after only two minutes with a broken hand. He will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.
The game was decided in the final five minutes of the first half as the Eagles used a 17-5 run over a four-minute span to build a 40-27 lead and eventually led, 41-29, at the intermission.
CSU could come no closer than six points in the second half as Georgia Southern shot .536 from the field in the second half (15-28) and out-rebounded the depleted Viking front-line, 40-35.
"We let the game get away from us just before the half and then didn't have enough offense to overcome the deficit in the second half," head coach Mike Garland said.
"The depth problem at center really showed tonight. We tried to offset it by using a three guard lineup, but the injury to Pape early in the game and foul trouble just made matters worse.
"We picked up the tempo in the second half and our play improved but the combination of a big deficit and the depth problems hindered our ability to get back into the game." Turnovers again proved to be a problem as CSU turned the ball over 25 times, including 14 in the first half, with the Eagles scoring 27 points off turnovers.
This is the second time that the Vikings have played in the four-year old tournament. CSU defeated Winthrop and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to claim the title at the inaugural tourney in 2000.
