AMERICUS - The Georgia Southwestern men's basketball team shot a sizzling 78 percent from the floor in the first half and built a 22-point lead on two occasions in the second half en route to an 89-77 win over Fort Valley State on Tuesday evening in the Storm Dome.
Southwestern scored nine unanswered points to start the game and held the lead until the 11:35 mark of the first half when a three-point basket from Kenneth Simmons gave FVSU a 16-13 advantage.
Another Simmons three-pointer with 7:46 left in the half gave Fort Valley State (0-4) their biggest lead of the game at 27-20.
GSW answered with a 21-6 run over the following seven minutes - hitting 9-of-11 shots - and an ensuing Evan Mobley three-pointer before the buzzer gave the Hurricanes a 44-37 halftime lead.
Southwestern picked up where it left off, starting the second stanza with another 21-6 run to extend the lead to 22 points with 10:43 remaining.
After FVSU had shaved the deficit to 13, GSW responded with a 12-3 run and put the game out of reach at 81-59 with 4:17 left to play.
GSW finished the contest shooting 59.2 percent (29-of-49) from the field, including an impressive 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from beyond the arc. The 'Canes also drained 19-of-20 attempts from the foul line.
FVSU shot 39 percent (23-of-59) from the field, 27. 8 percent (5-of-18) from three-point range and 74.3 percent (26-of-35) from the charity stripe.
Southwestern won the battle of the boards, 37-20, and second-chance points, 18-12.
Talmadge Bell hit 5-of-9 three-point attempts and was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line en route to his game-high 24 points for Southwestern. Phillip Brown hit 8-of-10 shots and finished with 19 points, while also grabbing nine rebounds. Mobley had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Trayce Macon added 12 points and nine boards.
FVSU's Brandon Davey led all scorers with 33 points. Martavius Orr scored 16 points and Desmond Lofland added 14.
Southwestern (3-1) hits the road for a Tuesday (11/30) matchup with SEC foe Auburn at 8 p.m.
