LUBBOCK, Texas - Senior guard Elton Nesbitt led four Georgia Southern players in double figures with a game-high 27 points as the Eagles claimed an 89-75 victory over the Portland Pilots Thursday afternoon at United Spirit Arena in the opening round of the 2K Sports Classic benifiting Coaches vs. Cancer. In the regular season opener for both schools, the Eagles (1-0) shot 50 percent from the field and limited the Pilots (0-1) to 40 percent shooting for the game.

Sophomore forward Marcus Lewis led the Pilots with a career-high 21 points and six rebounds, while senior guard Pooh Jeter added 15 points and four assists. Georgia Southern senior forward Sean Olivier recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Donte Gennie added 14 and Jimmy Tobias chipped in 10.

Portland will next face the loser of Texas Tech and San Jose State in the regional consolation on Friday, Nov. 11 at 3:30 p.m. (PST). The winner of the Lubbock Regional will advance to the tournament semifinals held at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 17.

The teams were familiar opponents after meeting in the consolation championship of the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska last season. Portland won that game 74-60 as Nesbitt struggled to a 17-point finish on 4-of-17 shooting, including 0-for-9 from three-point range. The speedy 5-foot-9 guard finished Thursday’s game 4-of-11 from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 at the free-throw line.

"Georgia Southern was clearly the better team tonight," Portland head coach Michael Holton said. "They played with more passion and competed from the opening tip. We played effective in brief stretches, but it was not a consistent competitive effort throughout the game."

The Eagles led by as many as 22 points in the second half, but the Pilots managed to chip away and cut the deficit to 10 at 81-71 with 2:08 remaining. Pilot sophomore guard Jeremiah Dominguez sparked a 16-7 run late to close the gap with a pair of long three-pointers and some pressure defense. Dominguez stole the ball again with 1:55 remaining and called a timeout after getting poked in the eye while struggling to maintain possession, but Portland had no timeouts left and were assessed a technical foul. Nesbitt drilled both free-throws to ice the game.

The Pilots played 11 players in an attempt to counter the Eagles’ pressure defense and stay fresh, but Georgia State set the tone early on the shoulders of Olivier and refused to relent.

The 6-foot-9 senior from St. Cloud, Fla. made five of his first six shot attempts and scored 12 early points to give the Eagles a 10-point lead midway through the half. Portland used a 9-3 run to make it 38-34 with just under four minutes remaining, but Georgia Southern scored the final seven points of the period to take a 45-34 halftime lead.

As if the Pilots needed any further hardships, starting forward Ben Sullivan was forced to leave the game after spraining his left ankle early in the second period. Sullivan did not return and may not be available for tomorrow’s game.

NOTES: Freshmen Jamie Jones, Brian McTear and Marcus Carter made their first appearances in a regular season collegiate game...Alex Tiefenthaler, another freshman, will redshirt the 2005-06 season...junior forward Chris Jackson was the only Pilot on the tip who did not see action, Jackson is recovering from a sprained ankle...Portland is now 2-3 in season openers under Michael Holton.