The Georgia Southern men's basketball team has struggled so far this season, but with the loss of their leading scorer for at least a game, things are likely to get even more difficult for the Eagles.

Willie Powers, a sophomore point guard who leads the team in scoring with 14.5 ppg., sustained an ACL injury in Thursday's 84-75 loss to The Citadel. He will not be available for today's game at College of Charleston and will undergo tests on Monday to determine the extent of the injury. A tear could mean the end of the season for Powers.

The Eagles also remain without the aid of forward Sandy Perry until their return to Statesboro. Perry, who did not play Thursday, received a blow to the head in Wednesday's practice which is thought to be a concussion. Coach Jeff Price said he hopes to have Perry back by Thursday's game at UNC-Greensboro.

"I think physically, it's going to be a huge factor," Price said of missing Powers and Perry. "Mentally, we've got to be able to understand that injury's a part of the game and we've got to put it aside. I hope that we're one of those teams you see that when some of your better players are down, other guys rally around it and find a way to step up and play better and win a big game."

Without Powers and Perry, Georgia Southern (4-7, 2-1 SoCon) must take on a College of Charleston team which, at 10-3 overall (2-1 SoCon), has only lost to Temple, Davidson and No. 3 North Carolina — a 108-70 blowout on Wednesday.

But there have been some positive points for the Eagles to look at recently; namely Antonio Hanson and Julian Allen. Hanson has averaged 18 points per game in the last three and Allen had his third career double-double against the Bulldogs on Thursday, tying his career high of 12 rebounds and scoring a team-high 20 points.

"Basically, coach told me just to be aggressive," Allen said. "He told me I could be one of the leading rebounders for the conference if I just work at it every day."

Additionally, GSU has regained the efforts of injured players Anthony Marshall and Kenith Ward. Marshall missed three practices prior to The Citadel game while Ward hadn't played since Dec. 6. Both saw limited minutes on Thursday and are expected to play in today's game, though neither, Price said, is back to 100 percent.

The Cougars are led by Andrew Goudelock, who is averaging 17.2 points per game, third in the league. Inside, they have Jermaine Johnson, a 6-foot-7 forward averaging 11.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

"It's going to be hard with Sandy out," Allen said, "because he gives us a little size inside, being that we don't have a lot of size. But I think if we work on controlling Jermaine Johnson down there and working together on defense, I think we could have a good game, if not come out with a win."

"Charleston's really talented," Price said. "They're so good because they have great balance. They've got really good guards and they have a good inside game and that's why they're a good team."

With the two significant injuries, the Eagles' starting lineup has changed. Hanson and Allen will be joined on the perimeter by freshmen Ben Drayton at point guard and Colby Wohlleb, with Trumaine Pearson as the only true post-player.

Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at Charleston's Carolina First Arena and will be televised live on CSS.

Natalie Sayewich can be reached at (912) 489-9413.