The end of non-conference for 2017 has come to a close for the FGCU men's basketball team as they concluded with their final game against NCAA DII Florida Tech (FIT). The Eagles struggled throughout the whole season after going on a four-game losing streak after losses to Oral Roberts, FIU, #11 Wichita State and Rhode Island (RV) before returning on a winning side after beating NAIA Florida Memorial 76-42 to go to 8-8 on the record. The Eagles managed to defeat the Panthers 62-54. Like the games against Florida Memorial and Webber International, the game counted as a season game for FGCU (9-8) that will not effect their RPI ranking, but it was an exhibition game for FIT (6-6).
Redshirt senior Brandon Goodwin led the way with a double-double. Goodwin had 13 points (5-for-10 FG, 3-for-5 FT), 11 assists and six rebounds.
Redshirt junior Zach Johnson had six points, four rebounds, four assists, one block and two steals. Johnson also made history as he joined senior Christian Terrell as the ninth player in program to join the 1,000 career points club.
Redshirt junior Michael Gilmore finished with four points and five rebounds.
Sophomore Christian Carlyle had two points and one steal.
Redshirt senior Antravious Simmons had four points and three rebounds.
Off the bench, redshirt junior Dinero Mercurius and Terrell led the way. Mercurius had a team-leading 15 points (5-for-12 FG, 3-for-8 3FG, 2-for-2 FT), three rebounds and one steal while Terrell had 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Other players that contributed off the bench were redshirt junior Ricky Doyle, redshirt sophomore Brady Ernst and freshman Darnell Rogers.
Doyle had six points, three rebounds and one block, Ernst had two points, two rebounds and one block and Rogers added one assist to the mix.
For the Panthers, junior Richard Coil led the way offensively. Coil finished with a double-double of 21 points (8-for-11 FG, 4-for-6 3FG, 1-for-3 FT), 12 rebounds, one block and one steal. Coil was the only player for the Panther to reach double figures in scoring.
Senior Michael Milligan had seven points, seven rebounds, one block and three steals.
Senior Sam Daniel had seven points, six rebounds and two steals.
Sophomore Valur Valsson had two points, six rebounds and six assists.
Redshirt senior Jordan Majors contributed with one rebound.
Off the bench, senior Patrick Anderson, freshman Darius Wright, sophomore Antonis Pefanis and freshman Mate Papai contributed to the game.
Anderson finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
Wright had four points, one rebound, one assist and one steal.
Pefanis and Papai had two points, one rebound and one assist each.
With the win, FGCU is now 6-0 against FIT.
The Eagles finished their non-conference schedule for 2017 on a semi-good note. Why do I say semi-good note instead of a good note? My honest reason is this: there were so many mistakes (physically and mentally) and bad ball IQ decisions that were made throughout the games that the Eagles played that it was a mess.
The big men were not boxing out strong enough and are not fully using their height to their advantage. Our bigs height range between 6-9 to 6-11 and they're not using it to their advantage. I'm 6-0 and 260 pounds, basically the height of a guard with the body of a power forward/center and based on what I've seen from our bigs, I can box them all out while drinking a cup of tea on the boiling sun. I will give Doyle and Gilmore a small omit because Doyle has not played for a whole season after transferring from Michigan and Gilmore is just starting to play after missing a duration of the season due to transferring from Miami and VCU.
Also, the whole team is not taking their time during the game. I mean I understand that they have 30 seconds to shoot the ball and try to get it in the basket and eight seconds to get across the other half of the court, which is rare to see and no big deal, but they have time and need to slow down the tempo when they play and they need to stop rushing their shots. The more they rush, the worse their game gets. It's the small mental mistakes made that cause them to struggle and I feel like they're overthinking.
Although I don't know how I put this sentence together, but each time I say it, they would get what I'm saying most of the time. I told a lot of athletes the line I would always say: "Don't think." Why do I say that to them? I tell them to imagine their minds as a rain cloud. The more precipitation drawn, the more the cloud stores to a certain max limit before it releases the rain. Their minds are full of cells and nerves and the more cells and nerves used, the more pressure they're putting on themselves and their minds and the worst their games will be. I'm not trying to be a jerk to them with my honesty, but I'd rather tell them the truth than lie.
Anyhow, with 2017 coming to a close on New Years Eve, FGCU can now prepare for A-SUN Conference play. The Eagles open with a doubleheader for both the men's and women's teams against Stetson to start off conference. The men's team will play at 7 PM on Saturday, January 6, 2018. Both games are dubbed as a White Out as marketing is encouraging fans to wear white to both games. In addition, it is also Faculty Staff Appreciation Day for the professors and staff that help make FGCU and the athletics thrive to be successful.
Now we await on 2018 to begin and to all my readers: Happy New Year my fellow readers and Go Eagles.
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