Davidson and GSU face off on the road

Shakeem Holloway

In the final game of its regular season, the Georgia Southern University men’s basketball team will face Davidson College on the road this Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Wildcats have the best record in the Southern Conference at 21-7 overall and 15-1 against SoCon opponents, with their only loss coming against the Eagles. GSU was able to defeat the Wildcats 70-57 at home, which stopped an 11-game losing streak for the team.

However, the Wildcats have not lost a game since the teams last met up, going 12-0.

Davidson is easily the best team in the conference and will prove to be a tough opponent for the Eagles.

The Wildcats are first in the conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense averaging 74.4 points per game and giving up only 57.1 points per game as a team.

Senior forward Jake Cohen leads the charge for the Wildcats averaging 15.0 points per game in addition to 5.7 rebounds. Cohen is the team’s leading scorer and fifth in the SoCon.

Cohen shoots a stellar 49.6 field goal percentage including a solid 38.8 percent from behind the arc.

Junior forward De’Mon Brooks is the second leading scorer for the Wildcats averaging 13.3 points per game on 48.1 percent shooting.

Defensively the Wildcats are equally as tough. They are third in the conference in field goal percentage defense, sporting a 41.7 field goal percentage defense.

Davidson has size with Cohen and Brooks, who are 6 foot 10 inches and 6 foot 7 inches tall respectively, which may cause problems for the Eagles as they start three guards, senior C.J. Reed, freshmen Cleon Roberts and Brian Holmes, none of which are over 6 foot 4 inches tall. The Wildcats only have one guard shorter than 6 foot 3 inches tall.

The Eagles will have to be quick defensively with their full-court pressure defense; they must harass the Wildcats in order to contain their offense.

The Eagles are a solid team defensively; they have the sixth ranked scoring defense giving up only 64.2 points per game. If the Eagles can hold the Wildcats to 64 points, their chances of winning increase dramatically.

Saturday will be the final regular season game for the Eagles, and they look to finish strong before the SoCon tournament begins.