GCSU Men Back Home and Ranked at No. 25

Defense wins games.

It’s as simple as that.

But, sometimes teams don’t buy into that strategy.

Thankfully, Georgia College and State University head coach Terry Sellers has branded into the mind of his players that if the team doesn’t perform well on defense, the results will be catastrophic.

Well, the team has responded quite nicely.

The Bobcats are 14-2 and 7-0 in the Peach Belt Conference-west. GSCU moved into the national rankings this past week, tied at no. 25 in the country in the latest polls.

Winners of their past eight, Georgia College is finally rewarded a two-week, four game home stand that starts this evening against Francis Marion University.

Georgia College has outscored opponents by 149 total points on their current eight game winning streak, holding teams to just 55.25 points per game. At the same time, Georgia College has found much production offensively, putting 73.87 points up per time out.

Tonight, Georgia College returns home to tip-off a highly anticipated game against the Francis Marion Patriots. FMU stands at 15-2 and 7-1 in the PBC-east.

The Patriots are the best rebounding team in the conference at 43.4 corrals per game. Georgia College is third in rebounding defense (rebounds allowed) at 39.6.

Therefore, yours truly will be watching the battle of the boards this evening.

Let’s dive into the keys of the game for the Bobcats:

1) Rebounding, as stated above. Mainly GCSU must be a presence on the defensive glass. Junior forward Josh Hurst and sophomore forward Ryan Aquino must be a presence on the defensive glass. Boxing out will be the biggest fundamental of the evening.
2) Georgia College must stop the dribble-drive offense that Francis Marion likes to run. The Patriots have two guards that are capable of beating anyone off the dribble—seniors Kaylan Anderson (11.3 points) and Kendrick Robinson (10.1 points). Georgia College must have a solid perimeter defense.
3) Will senior point guard Ty Rowland play? After talking to assistant coach Toby Wagoner yesterday at practice, Rowland is suffering from a severe cold that kept him out of practice on Thursday. If Rowland is a no-go, then junior guard Andre Mikell will be heavily relied upon to give effective minutes without getting into foul trouble.
4) Georgia College must shoot the ball well. It helps to be on your home turf!
5) Can senior guard Graham Martin put the team on his shoulders again? If not, who will step up for Georgia College in this game as the leader on the offensive side? GCSU must spread the offense around throughout the team, get solid bench contribution, and not rely on one person to get the job done.

These are two of the best teams going at it tonight! And we get to be on the home pitch! A big crowd will be in attendance as there are many promotions going on throughout the game.

And I’ll tell you about that and bring you the action at 7:20 on www.pennatlantic.com ! Sign up for the free telecast!