The FGCU men's basketball team (2-4) suffered its second-straight loss in the Gulf Coast Showcase as the Eagles fell to Colorado State (4-1), 82-74, Tuesday afternoon at Hertz Arena.
Redshirt senior Haanif Cheatham led all Eagles in scoring with 18 points and six rebounds as fellow redshirt senior Schadrac Casimir scored 12 points, going 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. Junior Christian Carlyle chipped in 10 points with redshirt transfer Dinero Mercurius adding seven points along with three steals playing all 40 minutes.
On the Colorado State side, Bonner Masinton and Kendle Moore each dropped a game-high 17 points as the duo combined to go 13-of-18 from the field. Adam Thistlewood chipped in 12 points off the bench for the Rams.
"Credit Colorado State, I thought for most of the game they played harder and better than us," said head coach Michael Fly. "I thought we turned it on at the end which unfortunately has been a theme for us the last week or so. We aren't getting to a point where defense and rebounding are important to us until we get down. Then we start to defend and rebound, so then we get back in the game. I just told those guys, right now I got to get them to buy in to defending and rebounding and when we do that, which we will, then we'll get good."
Casimir gave FGCU the lead on two occasions during the first half, all coming from beyond the arc. The first one came at the 18:44 mark and the second one being with 17:22 on the clock (8-7). Freshman Zach Scott started to heat up from behind the three-point line nailing back-to-back treys to inch FGCU within one possession at the 9:35 mark before a 7-0 run gave CSU a 26-18 lead going into the under eight media timeout. From there, redshirt sophomore Brady Ernst's layup sparked an 8-0 run for the Eagles as he scored six of those points with his dunk tying the affair at 26-26 with just over five minutes remaining in the first period.
Carlyle's jumper with 2:26 left gave FGCU its first lead since the first three minutes of the half but the Rams would close out the period going on an 8-0 spurt, fueled by three FGCU turnovers to lead 40-32.
FGCU shot 47 percent (13-of-28) from the field in the first half while CSU shot at a 57-percent clip (17-of-30).
Redshirt sophomore Troy Baxter Jr. provided FGCU some much-needed energy off the bench as six of his final eight points came inside the first nine minutes of the second half. Down as much as 19 (65-46) with 8:52 left, the Eagles began to chip away at the Ram's lead. Over the next two minutes, Cheatham sank seven of his 18 points to bring the Green and Blue within 11 (67-56). Continuing to attack the rim, the Fort Lauderdale native made it a 71-66 after a layup and a free throw fell through with 3:31 remaining. On the next possession, Mercurius converted a steal into a pair of points at the foul line to cut CSU's margin to 71-68.
From there the Eagles would get within four points twice, before the Rams closed out the contest on an 11-6 run, going 4-of-4 at the free throw line.
In the losing effort, FGCU shot 46 percent from the field as Colorado State connected on nearly 60 percent of its shots.
UP NEXT
FGCU will face UTSA (0-5) in its final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 am.
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