Recap: Ga Southern vs. Chattanooga

Asheville, NC (Sports Network) - Eric Ferguson finished with 26 points and eight rebounds as the third-seeded Georgia Southern Eagles defeated the Chattanooga Mocs, 76-70, in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament at the U.S. Cellular Center.

Jelani Hewitt added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Eagles (15-14), while Ben Drayton scored 12 points. Tre Bussey added 10 points off the bench to help Georgia Southern advance to the quarterfinal round, where it will face Elon on Saturday.

Jahmal Burroughs paced Chattanooga (11-21) with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Dontay Hampton scored 13 points, Ronrico White netted 12 points, and Keegan Bell had 11 points in the losing effort. The Mocs entered the tournament tied with Davidson for the most titles with 10.

The Mocs took a 42-34 lead into halftime after they shot 44.8 percent from the floor and converted 14-of-17 from the charity stripe in the opening period. Georgia Southern fell behind as it made only 36.7 percent of its field goals in the first half.

Chattanooga watched its lead disappear after the break as it shot an ice cold 25 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. The Eagles connected on 51.9 percent of their field goals and made 10-of-13 from the free throw line in the second half to walk away with a six-point victory.

Despite the loss, the Mocs held a 41-31 advantage in the rebounding battle. Georgia Southern managed to score 23 points off of Chattanooga's 16 turnovers.