February 21, 2012 Alex Brown

d.alex.brown@gmail.com

    I think it’s safe to say Georgia Southern basketball is back. After three consecutive years of failing to reach double digits in the win column, the Eagles are once again a force to be reckoned with in the Southern Conference.
    This season started slowly, but the Eagles are 11-4 since the calendar turned to 2012. Southern has won eight of its last nine games and six in a row. The Eagles have also won 10 straight home games.
    UNC Greensboro was Georgia Southern’s most recent victim after an 83-69 Eagle victory Saturday night. A couple of weeks ago, I called out the Eagle Nation for not getting behind this team — and you have responded.
    Not that anything I say really would have much effect on public behavior, but the past two home games sure have been fun. There’s plenty of room on the bandwagon, so jump on now. I have a feeling this team is going to take us on a heck of a ride for the rest of this season and for years to come.
    These guys only have one game left, and it’s against Davidson — the only team ahead of Georgia Southern in the SoCon standings. So, go ahead and make plans to be at Hanner Saturday at 7 p.m. These Eagles deserve a packed house to send off seniors Willie Powers and Ben Drayton.
    The Wildcats are always good, and this year is no different. They beat Kansas earlier in the season, so the Eagles will have their hands full — but then again, so will Davidson. It’s tough for anybody to come into Hanner and beat Georgia Southern when the place is rocking, so let me see what you got, Eagle Nation. Bring it — just one more time.
    Georgia Southern baseball season got underway this past weekend, and things went about as well as could be expected with the Eagles sweeping the three-game weekend series with UT-Martin.
    Chris Beck earned the win in Friday night’s 7-5 win. He allowed one run on just three hits while striking out eight in six innings of work. Southern led 7-1 after seven innings, but the Skyhawks put together an eighth-inning rally to make it a ballgame. Opening night also saw the fourth largest crowd in J.I. Clements Stadium history.
    The Eagles’ offense came alive Saturday and Sunday as they outscored UT-Martin by a combined score of 21-3 in the final two games. Senior Eric Phillips had six RBIs on the weekend, and Victor Roache was up to his old tricks again as he blasted two home runs in the series. If you don’t remember, Roache led the nation in homers last season with 30.
    Southern is now 3-0 on the season and hosts Georgia Tech on Wednesday before Radford comes to town this weekend.
    On another note, many people have weighed in on the closing of Snooky’s over the last few weeks, and I’d like to add my two cents.
    As I was paying for my final Snooky’s breakfast Saturday morning, owner Bruce Yawn laughed as we talked about how everyone wanted to buy T-shirts, menus and any other collectable they could find. “It’s just a 3,000 square foot brick building,” he said.
    No, Mr. Bruce, it isn’t. It’s so much more than that.
    This establishment was where Georgia Southern football was born. It was where Eagle fans went for game-day breakfast. It was a cornerstone of Statesboro — a part of the lives of so many in this community.
    It was a place you knew you could walk into by yourself without any plans to meet anyone and walk out having eaten a delicious meal with great friends.
    There will never be another Snooky’s. Thank you, Yawn family, for sharing it with us for the past 41 years. Statesboro will not be the same without it.

Print

E-Mail Story

News Letter Sign up

« Previous Story | Next Story »