A late rally by the FGCU men's basketball team came up just short as the Eagles fell on the road 55-49 against Dartmouth on Monday night in Leede Arena. The Big Green opened the second half on a 12-to-0 run, but the Eagles were able to pull back within three late in regulation.
"I thought we did some very good things in the first half including the run to close it out and tie the game before halftime," said head coach Michael Fly. "Even after Dartmouth, which was a team that returned a lot of key pieces from last year, opened the second half with that run, we didn't panic and were able to stay in the game. It's definitely frustrating, but I told the team there are a lot of positives in our program overall and, if they keep working the way they are, these games will start to go their way."
The loss drops FGCU to 0-3 on the year – a stretch that included a pair of road games including at defending A-10 champion Saint Louis.
Overall, FGCU held Dartmouth to just 37 percent from the floor, but the Eagles could only hit 34 percent of their own shots for the game despite going 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) in the first half. The Big Green held a slight 38-to-35 advantage in rebounds but did have a big advantage converting 15 FGCU miscues into 21 points.
"I thought our defensive effort was good in holding Dartmouth under 40-percent from the field," said Fly. "They were coming off a win at Buffalo which had won over 30 games each of the last two seasons."
Sophomore Zach Scott led the game with 16 points highlighted by hitting four three pointers on the night. Fellow sophomore Caleb Catto notched 12 points for his third game in double figures. Junior Justus Rainwater had a season-best eight points and nine rebounds, a game-high as well, to round out FGCU's top performers.
Dartmouth (2-0) had three players reach double figures led by 13 from Chris Knight. James Foye scored 12, while Aaryn Rai posted 10 points.
The game opened with a nip-and-tuck first half and saw FGCU score seven straight capped by a Scott three-pointer just before intermission sending the teams into the locker rooms tied at 29. The triple was part of a 14-point first half effort for Scott.
The Big Green opened the second half with a 12-to-0 run over a four-minute stretch to go up 41-29 at the 16:10 mark. Catto hit a three-pointer coming out of the under-16 media time out to stop the run as the Eagles began to chip away.
A seven-point run capped by a Rainwater jumper with 5:09 to go cut Dartmouth's lead to 50-47 as the Eagles started to swing momentum towards the visiting bench.
The game stayed within two possessions over the next four minutes. FGCU had two chances to cut the lead further in the final 39 seconds, but came up short on a pair of jumpers with Dartmouth clearing the defensive boards. Still trailing by five with 11 seconds to go, the Eagles were able to get another shot at a three-pointer, but the shot was just off the mark.
Dartmouth hit one of two free throws after an FGCU foul with six seconds to go giving the Eagles one more chance to pull within a possession. Another missed lay-up with 3 seconds to go saw the Big Green clear the rebound to run out the clock to hold on for the win.
The Eagles will stay on the road this week heading to Macon, Ga., to face Mercer on Friday night (7:30 PM). The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.
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