FGCU MBB vs Colgate Recap

The FGCU men's basketball team (2-8) dropped a 74-56 decision to Colgate (6-3) Sunday afternoon inside Alico Arena.

The Eagles were led by a season-best performance from freshman Zach Scott, who dropped 13 points off the bench. He also added five rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists.

Junior RaySean Scott, Jr. followed up his monster 12-point, 14-rebound effort from Wednesday with a solid 11-point, nine-rebound outing against the Raiders as he works to return from injury.

Colgate received a double-double from junior Rapolas Ivanauska, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Burns posted a game-high 19 points, and Will Rayman added 11.

"Colgate is a really good team, but we came out a little flat. That's something we are going to work to improve on going forward," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "Zach did some really positive things for a freshman. He's earned more playing time because he's playing with effort."

"I was extremely proud of our determination and discipline coming off a tough loss Friday night and a quick turnaround today," said Colgate head coach Matt Langel. "We were locked in on defense and shared the ball extremely well."

FGCU shot 32.4 percent (23-for-71) overall, 19.2 percent (5-for-26) from behind the 3-point line and 62.5 percent (5-for-8) at the free-throw line. The Raiders finished with a 44.8 percent (26-for-58) shooting clip overall, 36.8 percent (7-for-19) from distance and 78.9 percent (15-for-19) at the charity stripe.

The contest was a back-and-forth affair through the opening 10 minutes, as the visitors carried a singular 16-15 advantage. The Eagles hit a cold spell for the remainder of the half, as the Raiders were able to use a 14-2 run to build a 30-17 lead. A putback layup from Scott at the end of the opening 20 minutes pushed the first-half score to 30-19 in favor of the visitors.

FGCU hung tough in the early stages of the second half, whittling the deficit down to 12 at 40-28 with 16 minutes remaining in the contest. The home side hit another wall, however, as Colgate went on a 25-6 run to create a 31-point gap. The Eagles had plenty of open looks throughout the contest, but just could not get shots to fall.

A ferocious full-court press in the final five minutes helped FGCU go on a 22-7 run of its own to cut the deficit down to the final 18-point margin.

Up Next:
FGCU heads to the Midwest for a bout with Oral Roberts that will serve as a return trip from last year's meeting in Fort Myers. The game is slated for an 8 p.m. tip Dec. 5 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. ORU defeated the Eagles 83-64 in the first meeting between the programs on Dec. 16 of last season.