STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) Jean Francois led all scorers with 17 points and had 10 rebounds in his fifth double-double of the season Thursday night in Georgia Southern's 88-63 victory over Fort Valley State.<br>
<br>
The Eagles (5-6) opened the game by scoring the first eight points and the lead grew to 12-3 with 15:52 left in the half before the Wildcats (2-5) came back to tie it 22-22 with just over eight minutes remaining. Georgia Southern used a 24-7 run to claim the lead for good, holding a 46-29 advantage at halftime.<br>
<br>
Elton Nesbitt added 13 points, Donte Gennie 11, and Anthony Marshall 10 for Georgia Southern.<br>
<br>
Kendall Ruffin led Fort Valley with 16 points, while Ray Northern scored 14.<br>
<br>
Ruffin's free throw to open the second half pulled Fort Valley to within 16, but Georgia Southern scored the next seven points to push its lead to 53-30. The Wildcats closed to within no more than 20 the remainder of the game while the Eagles led by as much as 32, at 80-48 with 5:29 to go.
