After a tough season-opening loss at Saint Louis on Tuesday night, the FGCU men's basketball team returns to Fort Myers to officially open the home schedule at Alico Arena against UMBC. The match-up features a pair of former NCAA Cinderella programs and is the second straight year to see the two squads face off on the hardwood.
In Tuesday's loss, the Billikens used a 19-0 run in the first half to open up a big lead at the intermission. Sophomore Zach Scott scored 19 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as FGCU hung tough with the defending Atlantic 10 champions, 49-49. Joining Scott in double figures was sophomore Caleb Catto who notched 16 points on an efficient 6-of-8 from the floor.
Scott's 23 points were just two shy of his career-best single-game total as the sophomore hit 8-of-17 from the floor including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. He was particularly effective in the second half going 5-of-7 from deep and 7-of-11 overall from the floor.
In his FGCU debut, freshman Jalen Harper notched nine points going 3-of-4 from behind the three-point line.
Several Eagles made their collegiate debuts as freshman Qwanzi Samuels, freshman Dakota Rivers and Harper all saw action. In addition, junior Jalen Warren, senior Tracy Hector, junior Justus Rainwater, and junior Sam Gagliardi all made their first appearances for FGCU.
Scouting UMBC:
UMBC is 1-0 on the year after a season-opening 134-46 victory against NCAA Division III foe Valley Forge on Tuesday night. Dimitrije Spasojevic and Nathan Johnson led the Retrievers with 20 points each in the win.
Spasojevic added eight rebounds, going 10-12 from the floor off the bench. Johnson at one point scored 10 straight points connecting on three triples with six rebounds. Nine different Retrievers scored in double figures as the Retrievers shot nearly 70 percent from the floor.
The two teams have only played once before, last year's 76-53 win for FGCU in Baltimore, but both have captured the nation's attention. The Eagles first did so after reaching the 2013 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen, while the Retrievers became the first ever No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed in their 2018 victory over Virginia.
The game will also welcome back the return of junior Darnell Rogers Jr. Prior to UMBC, Rogers began his collegiate basketball career at FGCU where he averaged 0.9 points per game with a season-high 11 points before transferring to NJCAA New Mexico Junior College where he averaged 14 points and 3.7 assists per game.
Livestats will be provided and will air on ESPN+ with commentary done by David Moulton and J. Webb Horton. In addition, it is also a blue out so marketing is encouraging fans and Dirty Birds to wear blue to the game.
Following Saturday's home opener, FGCU will head north to New Hampshire to take on the Dartmouth Big Green on Monday at 7 PM for the first-ever meeting between the two squads. That will be part of two road trips scheduled for next week as the Eagles will then head to Mercer on Friday, Nov. 15 (7:30 PM).
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