The FGCU men's basketball team (8-14, 3-4 A-SUN) earned their redemption in a rematch as they clipped UNF (8-15, 3-5 A-SUN) 88-80. With the win, the Eagles are now 18-13 against the Ospreys.
"I'm really proud of our team. I thought we played hard and competed all game. The players have been really good about listening to what we have been saying from a scouting standpoint in these last four games," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "(North Florida is) a really good team. They've got guys like (Noah) Horchler and (Wajid) Aminu who combine for 47 points. Some of those guys have been playing together for three years now. That's big for us to be able to get a win against a veteran team that got us at their place."
"It was another hard fought game and tough loss," said UNF head coach Matthew Driscoll. "Proud of how the guys continue to battle, compete and persevere. Just have to continue working to be able to get those key stops and make the simple plays when we need it. We will get back to work tomorrow and prepare to play Kennesaw State on Wednesday night."
The victory for the Eagles avenges a loss from Jan. 12 in Jacksonville where the Ospreys defeated FGCU 87-66.
Redshirt senior Schadrac Casimir poured in 33 points, shooting 9 of 14 overall, 6 of 10 from 3-point range and 9 of 11 at the free-throw line.
True freshman Zach Scott contributed 14 points, and sophomore Troy Baxter Jr. added 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and a block.
Classmate Brian Thomas registered 10 points and seven rebounds, and junior Christian Carlyle pumped up the stat sheet with nine points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.
Junior Wajid Aminu scored 25 points for the visitors while fellow junior Noah Horchler added 22. Junior Ivan Gandia-Rosa was one assist shy of a double-double as he recorded 10 points and nine assists.
The Eagles shot 50 percent (32-for-64) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from 3-point range and a season-best 88.9 percent (16-for-18) at the free-throw line. UNF shot 44.1 percent (30-for-68) overall, 39.4 percent (13-for-33) from deep and 70 percent (7-for-10) at the charity stripe.
The contest featured a whopping 15 lead changes, 11 of which came in the opening half. FGCU took an early 12-4 lead and later held a 16-9 advantage, but the visitors used an 8-0 run to swing momentum back into their favor. Neither team could separate any more than four points until the Eagles found themselves on top 45-37 with 2:43 left in the first. North Florida cut the gap to one, however, by ending the opening frame on a 7-0 run.
The second half mirrored the first, with FGCU coming out on fire but UNF countering every step of the way. The two teams remained tight until a 3-point basket from true freshman Caleb Catto at the 2:24 mark gave the Eagles a 78-73 lead. A massive dunk from Thomas on the next possession put an exclamation point on the victory, and the home team cruised the rest of the way.
FGCU led in rebounding (36-30), points off turnovers (18-16) and fast-break points (4-0).
Up Next:
The Eagles set sail on the road for a Wednesday contest against NJIT. The first meeting of the season between the two clubs will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 in Newark, New Jersey.
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