After gaining national recognition the past two years, the SPSU Runnin' Hornets basketball team finally opened the door to the top 10 national rankings this week. The Runnin' Hornets are ranked #8 in the country in the NAIA Division I national rankings. It marks the first time in the modern era that Southern Poly has been in the top 10.

"It's nice to gain recognition and to realize that we are building something special here at SPSU. As a team, we are committed to taking games one at a time and we'll look at the rankings at the end of the year because that's when they really count," said SPSU Basketball Head Coach Mike Helfer.

Southern Poly made the jump from #14 in the pre-season to the #8 slot with the strength of a 7-1 mark that includes two wins over teams from last year's NAIA national tournament. SPSU beat St. Xavier 98-85 and Trevecca Nazarene 87-83. SPSU's only loss of the season was a 98-92 defeat at Life University November 28.

Under Head Coach Helfer, the Runnin' Hornets have made it the Sweet Sixteen of the NAIA national tournament the last two years. In 2000, SPSU won both the GACC regular season championship and the GACC tournament, and Helfer was named GACC men's coach of the year.

The Runnin' Hornets return to action December 8 with a home game against Pensacola Christian College. Tip-off is set for 4:00pm.