FGCU MBB vs NJIT Recap

 The FGCU men's basketball team (11-16, 6-6 A-SUN) collected a thrilling 57-55 home win over NJIT (18-8, 6-5 A-SUN) Wednesday night in Alico Arena.

The Eagles held the Highlanders scoreless across the final three minutes and were able to find the last four points of the contest to up their home winning streak to five games. The team moved one-half game ahead of idle North Alabama for solo fourth place in the current ASUN Conference standings. The Green and Blue also sit just a half-game behind NJIT for third.

"I'm really proud of our entire program tonight. NJIT is as good a team as there is in this league right now. When they're playing well, they're as good as Lipscomb, Liberty or anybody else we've played this season," FGCU coach Michael Fly said. "Credit our players for continuing to fight after they came at us at the end. These are the games that we weren't finishing three and four weeks ago. We had seniors stepping up tonight. Christian Carlyle goes and gets that big rebound (on the final possession of the game). I'm proud to see our older guys really doing what they're capable of on the floor."

Senior Schadrac Casimir paced the Eagles in scoring with 15 points, while classmate Dinero Mercurius added 13 of his own. Mercurius earned his first starting assignment since Dec. 2 and responded by posting double figures for the fifth time in his last six outings. He also hauled in six rebounds, which was the most since Nov. 28 and his second-highest total of the year.

FGCU shot 40.9 percent (18-for-44) from the field, 35.0 percent (7-for-20) from deep range and 53.8 percent (14-for-26) at the free-throw line. NJIT ended the night at 37.0 percent (20-for-54) overall, 23.1 percent (6-for-26) from behind the 3-point arc and 64.3 percent (9-for-14) at the line.

The Eagles earned a modicum of revenge after the Highlanders nipped FGCU 66-54 on Jan. 30 in Newark, New Jersey. Abdul Lewis led the visitors with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Shyquan Gibbs contributed 13 points.

Zach Cooks and San Antonio Brinson gave the Eagles fits when the two sides met earlier this year. Cooks poured in 17, while Brinson finished with 13 points. In Wednesday's contest, however, Cooks had just nine and Brinson was held to a paltry two. This marked just the third time all season Cooks failed to score in double figures.

FGCU raced out to an early 11-3 lead thanks to buckets from Casimir, Mercurius and true freshman Zach Scott. That lead quickly evaporated, however, as a 12-2 run gave the visitors a 15-13 advantage. The Eagles regained their footing and powered ahead 26-18 with 6:50 to play in the opening half, and they were able to carry that eight-point cushion all the way into the locker room at 33-25.

The home team fought to maintain that lead and even snuck ahead 44-36 five minutes into the second half, but the powerful Highlanders began to knock down shots and used a 7-0 run to get within one. Cooks made a jumper at the 7:33 mark to put NJIT on top 49-48, and neither team led by more than two points the rest of the way.

The Highlanders connected on a 3-point bucket with 2:53 to play to move on top 55-53, and that would prove to be their final points of the evening. They missed all four of their shots down the stretch, which included the front end of a 1-and-1 situation at the free-throw line. The winning points all came from Mercurius. He tied the game and drew a foul with a layup at the 2:31 mark, and his and-1 free throw put FGCU on top for good. He later added an exclamation point with a free throw with 17 seconds remaining, and the final three rebounds were all corralled by the home team.

FGCU led the night in rebounding (33-29), blocks (6-2), and bench points (12-8).

Up Next:
FGCU heads to Deland, Florida, for a Saturday clash with Stetson. The Eagles and Hatters will meet at 4 p.m. Feb. 16 in J. Ollie Edmunds Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. FGCU triumphed over Stetson (5-21, 1-10 A-SUN) 87-65 when the two sides clashed in Fort Myers on Jan. 21.