Junior Jalen Warren's floater with three seconds to go proved the game-winner as the FGCU men's basketball team (7-16, 4-4 A-SUN) picked up a key road win, 63-61, at Jacksonville (10-13, 3-5 A-SUN) on Thursday night at Swisher Gymnasium. The win places FGCU in a tie for fifth alongside NJIT in the A-SUN standings.
For Warren, the game-winner was his second of the season as he tallied 18 points in the game. His first game-winning shot of the season came against FAU at Alico Arena in overtime and was the No. 1 Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter. The guard was particularly effective in the second half where he scored 12 of his points including the first five for FGCU out of the break.
Sophomore Caleb Catto led all scorers with 20 points for his third-straight game with 20-or-more. That marked the first time since Brandon Goodwin, now with the Atlanta Hawks, did so during the 2017-18 season (2/15, 2/17, 2/22). Catto notched 23 points at North Alabama and 21 points against NJIT bring his scoring average in A-SUN games this season up to 16.0 per contest.
"I thought tonight was a really gutsy and gritty game by our guys," said head coach Michael Fly. "Jacksonville is a tough, tough team and hard to beat when the fans in Swisher Gym get going. I was proud of the guys for continuing to fight after JU cut down our 10 point lead. Those were games we hadn't won recently. We are certainly seeing positive signs here and, as we all know, if you can play the right way at the right time of year, special things can happen."
In addition to Warren and Catto, sophomore Zach Scott scored 11 points in his first start in eight games. Junior Brian Thomas led all players with a season-high nine rebounds, while senior Tracey Hector added eight boards.
Overall, the Eagles hit 23-of-59 field goals including 10-of-28 from beyond the arc. Both Catto and Scott had three triples each. The Dolphins hit 23-of-57 going 8-of-21 from long range.
Jacksonville was led by 19 points from Destin Barnes and 10 points from David Bell.
The Eagles took a 32-28 lead into intermission after Warren hit a floater with six seconds left in the first half – part of a five-point swing to close the stanza.
In the second half, FGCU extended its lead to as many as 10, 52-42, at the 8:42 mark on a Catto triple. The Dolphins then scored 11-straight in a two-minute spurt to regain the lead. A Catto jumper followed by a Warren three and another Catto score in the paint re-extended the Eagles lead to 59-53 with 2:45 to go.
Jacksonville pulled back even to tie the game 61-61 with 17 seconds remaining. Warren's floater in the paint on the ensuing possession put the Eagles back on top. The Dolphins had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Deanthony McCallum's three-point shot from the wing was just off the mark as the Eagles took the 63-61 win.
Up Next:
The Eagles will stay on the road this weekend with a Saturday trip to Liberty which is tied for the league lead. Tip-off against the Flames is set for 7 PM and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
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