The FGCU men's basketball team (7-13, 2-3 A-SUN) earned their second straight in conference play as they beat Stetson (4-16, 0-5 A-SUN) 87-65 Monday night inside Alico Arena. With the win, the Eagles are now 20-7 against the Hatters.
"I was proud of our effort tonight. That's something we've talked about a lot the last couple of weeks," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "We also talk about getting better daily, and I think we're starting to see that. We won a game on the road two nights ago, and we come home and continued to play well. We're not worried about what happened in the past or any games down the road, we're just trying to get better each day and take it one game at a time."
Playing in front of 3,321 fans on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, five Eagles finished the game in double digit scoring: redshirt senior Schadrac Casimir (21), junior Christian Carlyle (13), sophomore Brian Thomas (12) and freshmen Caleb Catto (12) and Zach Scott (11).
Casimir was 5-for-8 at the 3-point line and added five rebounds and four assists, Carlyle added four assists and two blocks, Thomas added seven rebounds while Cotto added four, and Scott added six rebounds. Thomas' 12 points were a career high.
"I feel great," said Thomas. "I've been hurt for a while and what looks year-by-year, but I think I finally found the rhythm I was looking for."
Four Hatters scored in double figures. Jalen Crutchfield, Ricardo Lynch and Keith Matthews led the Hatters with 11 points each. Abayomi Iyiola added 10 points and four rebounds.
FGCU shot 34-for-68 (50 percent) from the field, and the 34 made field goals were a new season high. The home team also shot 35.7 percent (10-for-28) from 3-point land and 75 percent (9-for-12) at the free-throw line. Stetson shot 37.1 percent (23-for-62) overall, 30.8 percent (8-for-26) from deep and 78.6 percent (11-for-14) from the charity stripe.
FGCU came out blistering in the opening half, as the Eagles carried a 55-30 advantage into the locker room. The Eagles went 21-for-35 (60 percent) in the opening stanza, which was just two shy of the school's D-I record for most field goals made in a first half.
Casimir had another great start after scoring 15 points in the opening five minutes against Kennesaw State two nights ago. He didn't quite reach that mark this time around, but he was able to account for nine points before the first media timeout. FGCU led 15-4 before the fans were able to settle into the game, and the home side extended its lead back out to 27-17 after Stetson closed the gap to within 17-13. The Hatters remained within striking distance at 39-30, but FGCU cranked out 16 unanswered points to close out the frame to take a commanding 25-point lead.
The Eagles blew the game wide open by scoring 19 of the first 21 points in the second half to go on top by 42. They coasted the rest of the way as the Hatters were unable to get any closer than the final 22-point margin.
FGCU led the night in assists (22-14), fewer turnovers (7-18), blocks (4-1), steals (11-4), points in the paint (42-24), and points off turnovers (25-10). The assist total was a season high, and the number of turnovers from the Eagles was the fewest in a game this year.
Up Next:
FGCU will carry its two-game win streak into a road showdown with league favorite Lipscomb. The Bisons (14-4, 5-0 A-SUN) are one of two remaining undefeated teams in league play, and the Eagles will try to knock them off at 7:30 p.m. EST Jan. 24 in Nashville, Tennessee.
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