A double-double by freshman Dakota Rivers alongside a hot-shooting first half paced the FGCU men's basketball team (9-20, 6-8 A-SUN) to a 55-39 road victory at NJIT (8-19, 5-9 A-SUN) on Saturday evening.
The win moved FGCU into a three-way tie for fifth-place in the ASUN standings. The Eagles are tied with both of next week's opponents - Jacksonville and North Alabama.
Rivers finished the game with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds – the most in a single-game this season for the Eagles and since RaySean Scott, Jr., had 14 against Florida International on Nov. 28, 2018. Rivers also added three blocked shots in his 23 minutes of playing time.
Sophomore Caleb Catto led the Eagles overall in scoring with 13 points, while junior Jalen Warren also notched 10 points alongside six rebounds and six assists. In just his second start of the year, freshman Cyrus Largie had eight points, six rebounds, two steals, an assist and a blocked shot.
"We fully believe if you keep working and give full effort, then good things will happen," said head coach Michael Fly. "I think all the work they've put in is starting to pay off and I'm happy to see Dakota and Cyrus get rewarded for the effort they gave tonight. We've had a lot of close games this year and had some good defensive performances, but have struggled shooting at points. We moved Tracy (Hector) into more of a play-maker spot because of his passing and that allowed us to keep more shooters in the game which I think really opened up the floor."
NJIT was led by Zach Cooks who scored 18 points and was the only Highlander to reach double figures.
The Eagles took a 35-24 lead into the intermission thanks to a 20-2 run spanning the latter half of the opening stanza. FGCU shot 14-of-28 from the field while holding the Highlanders to just 9-of-29 shooting. After NJIT scored 11 straight to go up 15-10, back-to-back triples from Rivers and Largie ignited the run for FGCU. Junior Sam Gagliardi's three-pointer at the 2:21 mark put the Eagles up 30-17 capping the 20-2 run which was the largest of the season. A quick five-point burst by NJIT after that closed the gap, but Catto added another triple with 16 seconds to go giving FGCU the 11 point lead at the break.
In the second half, FGCU was able to control a double-figure lead for most of the period. NJIT used a 5-to-2 spurt in the opening three minutes to cut its deficit to eight, 37-29, but back-to-back buckets by Rivers and Hardy put the Eagles back in control with the Highlanders unable to really push back down the stretch.
After a Hardy jumper with 4:16 left in the game, FGCU held NJIT scoreless for the balance while knocking down four straight free throws to give the final margin of victory.
Overall, FGCU held a 42-to-33 advantage in rebounding sparked by Rivers' performance. That limited the extra possessions for the Highlanders who scored their second fewest amount of points for a single game this season.
The first half shooting performance for the Eagles cooled in the second half to finish the game at 20-of-55 overall and 8-of-21 from deep, but defensively, FGCU held the Highlanders to just 25.5 percent (14-of-55) for the game including 5-of-26 after the intermission.
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Showing posts with label FGCU Men's Basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FGCU Men's Basketball. Show all posts
FGCU MBB @ Lipscomb Recap
A total of 23 points for the Bison off 19 Eagles turnovers proved the difference maker on Saturday evening as Lipscomb (12-14, 7-6 A-SUN) defeated the FGCU men's basketball team (8-20, 5-8 A-SUN) 64-54 at Allen Arena.
"The turnovers tonight and the points Lipscomb scored off them were the name of the game," said head coach Michael Fly. "We actually defended pretty well holding them to 38-percent from the floor and, overall, I thought we shot pretty well. But you can't turn the ball over like we did and have them lead to points on the other end. We've got a week to regroup and to get ready for NJIT."
Sophomore Zach Scott led FGCU with 12 points, highlighted by four three pointers, while adding five rebounds. Junior Jalen Warren added 10 points, while freshman Cyrus Largie had career-highs in both points (9) and rebounds (8). Freshman Dakota Rivers also had nine points after hitting three second-half three points.
Lipscomb was led by Greg Jones who scored a game-high 24 points, while Ahsan Asadullah notched a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Miles Miller rounded out the top scorers with 11 points.
FGCU did secure a spot in the upcoming A-SUN Tournament field with a Kennesaw State loss earlier in the day. The Eagles now sit tied with North Alabama for sixth in the A-SUN standings while Lipscomb moved into fourth with the win.
Overall, the Bison held a plus-13 advantage in points off turnovers (23-to-10). Both teams hit 20 field goals in the game, but the free throw line also tilted in Lipscomb's favor. The Bison hit 17-of-21 from the charity stripe compared to 5-of-7 for FGCU.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 8-2 lead to start the game, but Lipscomb took advantage of FGCU turnovers to score 13 straight points. Eight of those came off turnovers putting the Bison up 15-8 at the 12 minute mark. A pair of three pointers from junior Sam Gagliardi and Scott pulled the Eagles within one, 15-14, three minutes later.
Lipscomb was able to stretch the lead back to seven twice after that but a jumper from Malik Hardy with 3:33 to go cut the deficit to 26-21. That proved the last field goal of the half for the Eagles. The Bison were held scoreless from the field, but did convert six free throw attempts over that stretch taking a 32-21 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, FGCU was able to trim the deficit to eight on a Scott three pointer in the first 90 seconds of play, but Lipscomb pushed the lead to 20 over the next seven minutes. The Eagles shaved seven points off the Bison lead to trail 50-37 at the 8:53 mark, but could not get any closer until a Largie lay-up with one second to go gave the final score.
"The turnovers tonight and the points Lipscomb scored off them were the name of the game," said head coach Michael Fly. "We actually defended pretty well holding them to 38-percent from the floor and, overall, I thought we shot pretty well. But you can't turn the ball over like we did and have them lead to points on the other end. We've got a week to regroup and to get ready for NJIT."
Sophomore Zach Scott led FGCU with 12 points, highlighted by four three pointers, while adding five rebounds. Junior Jalen Warren added 10 points, while freshman Cyrus Largie had career-highs in both points (9) and rebounds (8). Freshman Dakota Rivers also had nine points after hitting three second-half three points.
Lipscomb was led by Greg Jones who scored a game-high 24 points, while Ahsan Asadullah notched a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Miles Miller rounded out the top scorers with 11 points.
FGCU did secure a spot in the upcoming A-SUN Tournament field with a Kennesaw State loss earlier in the day. The Eagles now sit tied with North Alabama for sixth in the A-SUN standings while Lipscomb moved into fourth with the win.
Overall, the Bison held a plus-13 advantage in points off turnovers (23-to-10). Both teams hit 20 field goals in the game, but the free throw line also tilted in Lipscomb's favor. The Bison hit 17-of-21 from the charity stripe compared to 5-of-7 for FGCU.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 8-2 lead to start the game, but Lipscomb took advantage of FGCU turnovers to score 13 straight points. Eight of those came off turnovers putting the Bison up 15-8 at the 12 minute mark. A pair of three pointers from junior Sam Gagliardi and Scott pulled the Eagles within one, 15-14, three minutes later.
Lipscomb was able to stretch the lead back to seven twice after that but a jumper from Malik Hardy with 3:33 to go cut the deficit to 26-21. That proved the last field goal of the half for the Eagles. The Bison were held scoreless from the field, but did convert six free throw attempts over that stretch taking a 32-21 lead into the intermission.
In the second half, FGCU was able to trim the deficit to eight on a Scott three pointer in the first 90 seconds of play, but Lipscomb pushed the lead to 20 over the next seven minutes. The Eagles shaved seven points off the Bison lead to trail 50-37 at the 8:53 mark, but could not get any closer until a Largie lay-up with one second to go gave the final score.
FGCU MBB @ JU Recap
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+.
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+.
FGCU MBB vs Kennesaw Recap
After a record-setting first half where the Eagles allowed just seven points, the FGCU men's basketball team (6-14, 3-2 A-SUN) cruised to a 73-51 win over Kennesaw State (1-16, 0-4 A-SUN) at Alico Arena on Thursday night. The win was the third in the last four outings for the Eagles and the second straight.
The seven points allowed in the first half were a program record and the fewest allowed in the first half of an NCAA Division I game this year. The Owls were just 1-of-25 from the floor which nearly matched the NCAA record for lowest field goal percentage in the shot clock era which was set by Northern Illinois (1-of-31, 3.2%) on Jan. 26, 2013. The one made field goal tied the NCAA record for fewest made alongside NIU and Savannah State (at Kansas State, 2008). Overall the NCAA record for fewest points (since 1986 according to the NCAA record book) in a first half of a Division I game was 5 by California against Notre Dame on Nov. 26, 2010. In the NIU/EMU game, the Huskies were held to just four points, while Eastern Michigan also managed just four points in 2018 against Rutgers.
"We're happy to get the win tonight and to continue to see progression over the last few weeks," said head coach Michael Fly. "Now we have to turn our focus to a very quick turnaround as we face a very good North Alabama team. KSU is obviously in a rebuilding mode with some young guys who are still figuring out their chemistry - somewhat similar to some of the struggles we've faced.I thought our defense did a good job overall, but part of it was KSU just missed some shots and had some good looks just not go in."
The Eagles carried a 34-7 lead into halftime with Kennesaw State's only field goal coming on a three-pointer by Jamie Lewis at the 8:42 mark of the opening stanza. FGCU had scored nine straight before that and then finished the half on an 18-to-4 run.
The lead grew to as many as 39, 60-21, midway through the second half after a free throw by junior Sam Gagliardi. The Owls were able to cut into the lead as the Eagles began to mix-and-match line-ups. KSU strung together a 17-to-3 run to cut the deficit to 63-37 with 5:56 remaining in the game.
FGCU was led by 11 points from sophomores Caleb Catto and Zach Scott in what was a balanced overall offensive effort. Junior Jalen Warren had a game-high 11 rebounds with nine points and five assists. Junior Justus Rainwater and Cyrus Largie each added nine points.
Lewis led all scorers with 20 points for the Owls, while Tyler Hooker was the only other KSU player in double figures.
The Eagles finished the game shooting 45.3 percent (29-of-64), while Kennesaw State hit 14-of-67 (20.9%). The 20.9 percent shooting percentage was also a record low allowed by FGCU. The previous best field goal defense mark was 22.7 percent by East Tennessee State on Feb. 7, 2013.
FGCU also held a 53-to-39 advantage in rebounding which was the second time this season to break the 50-rebound plateau.
Up Next:
Following tonight's action, the Eagles return to action with a road trip this Saturday afternoon at North Alabama as part of a double-header with the women's team. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
The seven points allowed in the first half were a program record and the fewest allowed in the first half of an NCAA Division I game this year. The Owls were just 1-of-25 from the floor which nearly matched the NCAA record for lowest field goal percentage in the shot clock era which was set by Northern Illinois (1-of-31, 3.2%) on Jan. 26, 2013. The one made field goal tied the NCAA record for fewest made alongside NIU and Savannah State (at Kansas State, 2008). Overall the NCAA record for fewest points (since 1986 according to the NCAA record book) in a first half of a Division I game was 5 by California against Notre Dame on Nov. 26, 2010. In the NIU/EMU game, the Huskies were held to just four points, while Eastern Michigan also managed just four points in 2018 against Rutgers.
"We're happy to get the win tonight and to continue to see progression over the last few weeks," said head coach Michael Fly. "Now we have to turn our focus to a very quick turnaround as we face a very good North Alabama team. KSU is obviously in a rebuilding mode with some young guys who are still figuring out their chemistry - somewhat similar to some of the struggles we've faced.I thought our defense did a good job overall, but part of it was KSU just missed some shots and had some good looks just not go in."
The Eagles carried a 34-7 lead into halftime with Kennesaw State's only field goal coming on a three-pointer by Jamie Lewis at the 8:42 mark of the opening stanza. FGCU had scored nine straight before that and then finished the half on an 18-to-4 run.
The lead grew to as many as 39, 60-21, midway through the second half after a free throw by junior Sam Gagliardi. The Owls were able to cut into the lead as the Eagles began to mix-and-match line-ups. KSU strung together a 17-to-3 run to cut the deficit to 63-37 with 5:56 remaining in the game.
FGCU was led by 11 points from sophomores Caleb Catto and Zach Scott in what was a balanced overall offensive effort. Junior Jalen Warren had a game-high 11 rebounds with nine points and five assists. Junior Justus Rainwater and Cyrus Largie each added nine points.
Lewis led all scorers with 20 points for the Owls, while Tyler Hooker was the only other KSU player in double figures.
The Eagles finished the game shooting 45.3 percent (29-of-64), while Kennesaw State hit 14-of-67 (20.9%). The 20.9 percent shooting percentage was also a record low allowed by FGCU. The previous best field goal defense mark was 22.7 percent by East Tennessee State on Feb. 7, 2013.
FGCU also held a 53-to-39 advantage in rebounding which was the second time this season to break the 50-rebound plateau.
Up Next:
Following tonight's action, the Eagles return to action with a road trip this Saturday afternoon at North Alabama as part of a double-header with the women's team. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
FGCU Basketball vs Stetson Recap
The FGCU men's and #25 women's basketball teams pulled away with a sweep in their doubleheader at Stetson. The women (16-2, 3-0 A-SUN) defeated the Lady Hatters (7-9, 1-2 A-SUN) 89-47, while the men (5-14, 2-2 A-SUN) defeated Stetson's men's team (7-11, 1-2 A-SUN) 66-62 in overtime. With the wins, the women are now 26-4 against Stetson while the men are 21-8.
"We played much better today," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We were better defensively, and we moved the ball quicker on offense. Most of our players played really well, too, and I loved the energy from (Kerstie) Phills."
"I thought that was as gritty of a road win as we've had since I've been here; it was a great team effort and we really had some guys step up tonight," said FGCU head coach Michael Fly. "We challenged them tonight to limit Stetson on the offensive glass and to hold them to zero second chance points was a really huge accomplishment. I'm really proud of the fight and resolve that the team had especially when we were down some late."
FGCU WBB:
With the win, the Eagles extended the nation's third-longest conference winning streak to 31 straight and are now 26-4 all-time against the Hatters, including wins in six straight and 15 of the past 16. The 42-point victory was the largest winning margin in series history, and FGCU is also tied with Stony Brook as the only two teams with 16 wins nationally.
Senior Nasrin Ulel and redshirt senior Davion Wingate, who both had 19 points each, combined to shoot 13-for-28 from the field, including a 9-for-18 performance from long distance. The duo made half of FGCU's 18 3-point field goals.
Meanwhile, redshirt senior Keri Jewett-Giles tallied 15 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Senior Tytionia Adderly added 14 points and eight rebounds, while redshirt junior Kerstie Phills had 11 points and five boards. Redshirt junior Anja Marinkovic added eight points in seven minutes off the bench in the second half, while redshirt senior Ashli O'Neal produced five assists and four rebounds over 16 minutes.
After a slow start offensively, FGCU scored 19 points over the final 5:22 of the opening quarter. Ulel and Jewett-Giles combined for 17 of those 19 points, while Ulel had 10 points in the frame alone.
After closing the first on a 9-2 run, the Eagles opened the second on a 12-2 run, highlighted by a trio of 3-pointers along with a three-point play from Adderly. With FGCU holding a 34-18 lead, Wingate scored 13 straight for her team over a three-minute stretch to push the advantage to 22 with 4:49 left in the half.
Phills and Ulel combined for the final six points of the half as FGCU took a 27-point lead into the break. Marinkovic then helped the Eagles overcome a 12-point third with an eight-point fourth quarter to help ice the game.
Notes:
FGCU's 18 3-point field goals fell one shy of their season-high that was set against FIU (Nov. 5) and Temple (Dec. 22). In fact, those two outings remain the only two games with 19 by a Division I team against a Division I team this year.
O'Neal remains 18 points shy of 1,000 in her career.
FGCU is now 12-2 all-time as a ranked Division I team.
With her 19 points, Ulel passed Stephanie Haas (1,138, 2012-16) for eighth-place on the program's Division I era career scoring list. She now has 1,150, which is 32 shy of Adrianne McNally (1,181, 2007-10) for seventh.
FGCU MBB:
Sophomore Caleb Catto scored a career-high 19 points and junior Jalen Warren scored eight of his 16 points in the overtime win for the Eagles.
FGCU carried a 27-26 lead into halftime, but needed Catto's career-best fifth three-pointer of the day with 17 seconds left in regulation to force the extra stanza. Stetson took an early lead in overtime, but Warren's performance helped lift the Eagles to their second overtime and first road victory of the season.
Catto finished the day going 5-of-7 from three-point range and 7-of-13 overall while adding six rebounds. Warren's 16 points included a 4-of-4 free throw performance with two of them coming in the final 25 seconds of overtime pushing the FGCU lead to four. Rounding out the Eagles' top scorers was sophomore Zach Scott who had 10 points, while senior Tracy Hector tied his career-high with 7 assists to go with five rebounds and three steals.
Stetson led by as many as seven midway through the first half, but a 10-to-2 run for FGCU put the Eagles back ahead, 19-18, at the 7:43 mark. The teams traded leads three more times after that before Warren found freshman Dakota Rivers for the go-ahead dunk just prior to the intermission.
The second half saw both teams trading buckets as the stanza featured 10 lead changes and six ties. With 1:23 to go, Mahamadou Diawara hit a lay-up putting the Hatters up three. Both teams missed jumpers on the ensuing possessions before Catto tied the game, 54-54, with 17 seconds to go. Jahlil Rawley was able to get a shot off just before the buzzer but it was off target sending the game to overtime.
The Hatters scored first in overtime with a triple from Rob Perry and kept the lead for nearly three minutes until a pair of free throws by junior Justus Rainwater tied the game at 60-60.
A running jumper by Warren followed by two free throws put the Eagles up 64-60 with 25 seconds to go. Stetson pulled back within two, but, with 12 seconds to go, Scott hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to four, 66-62. After a timeout, Perry was able to get off another three-point attempt with two seconds to go, but was just off the mark with Catto clearing the rebound to preserve the win.
Perry finished the night with a game-high 27 points for Stetson as he hit 10-of-18 from the floor and was 5-of-9 from deep. Christiaan Jones rounded out the Hatters' top scorers with 13 points.
Overall, FGCU hit 21-of-48 from the floor and went 18-of-20 from the free throw line for one of its best performances of the year. The Hatters shot 25-of-54 and were limited to just 6-of-10 at the line.
Defensively, the Eagles were able to corral 23 defensive rebounds and did not allow a single second-chance point for the Hatters in the game.
Up Next:
The men will return to action this Thursday, Jan. 16 when Kennesaw State visits Alico Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 PM and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The women will stay on the road to face top-75 RPI North Florida (9-7, 2-1) on Monday at 7 p.m. The Ospreys are the last team to defeat the Eagles in conference play (Feb. 1, 2018, 75-73), which coincidentally also came when FGCU was ranked, although the Eagles were without the services of Adderly in that game.
"We played much better today," FGCU head coach Karl Smesko said. "We were better defensively, and we moved the ball quicker on offense. Most of our players played really well, too, and I loved the energy from (Kerstie) Phills."
"I thought that was as gritty of a road win as we've had since I've been here; it was a great team effort and we really had some guys step up tonight," said FGCU head coach Michael Fly. "We challenged them tonight to limit Stetson on the offensive glass and to hold them to zero second chance points was a really huge accomplishment. I'm really proud of the fight and resolve that the team had especially when we were down some late."
FGCU WBB:
With the win, the Eagles extended the nation's third-longest conference winning streak to 31 straight and are now 26-4 all-time against the Hatters, including wins in six straight and 15 of the past 16. The 42-point victory was the largest winning margin in series history, and FGCU is also tied with Stony Brook as the only two teams with 16 wins nationally.
Senior Nasrin Ulel and redshirt senior Davion Wingate, who both had 19 points each, combined to shoot 13-for-28 from the field, including a 9-for-18 performance from long distance. The duo made half of FGCU's 18 3-point field goals.
Meanwhile, redshirt senior Keri Jewett-Giles tallied 15 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Senior Tytionia Adderly added 14 points and eight rebounds, while redshirt junior Kerstie Phills had 11 points and five boards. Redshirt junior Anja Marinkovic added eight points in seven minutes off the bench in the second half, while redshirt senior Ashli O'Neal produced five assists and four rebounds over 16 minutes.
After a slow start offensively, FGCU scored 19 points over the final 5:22 of the opening quarter. Ulel and Jewett-Giles combined for 17 of those 19 points, while Ulel had 10 points in the frame alone.
After closing the first on a 9-2 run, the Eagles opened the second on a 12-2 run, highlighted by a trio of 3-pointers along with a three-point play from Adderly. With FGCU holding a 34-18 lead, Wingate scored 13 straight for her team over a three-minute stretch to push the advantage to 22 with 4:49 left in the half.
Phills and Ulel combined for the final six points of the half as FGCU took a 27-point lead into the break. Marinkovic then helped the Eagles overcome a 12-point third with an eight-point fourth quarter to help ice the game.
Notes:
FGCU's 18 3-point field goals fell one shy of their season-high that was set against FIU (Nov. 5) and Temple (Dec. 22). In fact, those two outings remain the only two games with 19 by a Division I team against a Division I team this year.
O'Neal remains 18 points shy of 1,000 in her career.
FGCU is now 12-2 all-time as a ranked Division I team.
With her 19 points, Ulel passed Stephanie Haas (1,138, 2012-16) for eighth-place on the program's Division I era career scoring list. She now has 1,150, which is 32 shy of Adrianne McNally (1,181, 2007-10) for seventh.
FGCU MBB:
Sophomore Caleb Catto scored a career-high 19 points and junior Jalen Warren scored eight of his 16 points in the overtime win for the Eagles.
FGCU carried a 27-26 lead into halftime, but needed Catto's career-best fifth three-pointer of the day with 17 seconds left in regulation to force the extra stanza. Stetson took an early lead in overtime, but Warren's performance helped lift the Eagles to their second overtime and first road victory of the season.
Catto finished the day going 5-of-7 from three-point range and 7-of-13 overall while adding six rebounds. Warren's 16 points included a 4-of-4 free throw performance with two of them coming in the final 25 seconds of overtime pushing the FGCU lead to four. Rounding out the Eagles' top scorers was sophomore Zach Scott who had 10 points, while senior Tracy Hector tied his career-high with 7 assists to go with five rebounds and three steals.
Stetson led by as many as seven midway through the first half, but a 10-to-2 run for FGCU put the Eagles back ahead, 19-18, at the 7:43 mark. The teams traded leads three more times after that before Warren found freshman Dakota Rivers for the go-ahead dunk just prior to the intermission.
The second half saw both teams trading buckets as the stanza featured 10 lead changes and six ties. With 1:23 to go, Mahamadou Diawara hit a lay-up putting the Hatters up three. Both teams missed jumpers on the ensuing possessions before Catto tied the game, 54-54, with 17 seconds to go. Jahlil Rawley was able to get a shot off just before the buzzer but it was off target sending the game to overtime.
The Hatters scored first in overtime with a triple from Rob Perry and kept the lead for nearly three minutes until a pair of free throws by junior Justus Rainwater tied the game at 60-60.
A running jumper by Warren followed by two free throws put the Eagles up 64-60 with 25 seconds to go. Stetson pulled back within two, but, with 12 seconds to go, Scott hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to four, 66-62. After a timeout, Perry was able to get off another three-point attempt with two seconds to go, but was just off the mark with Catto clearing the rebound to preserve the win.
Perry finished the night with a game-high 27 points for Stetson as he hit 10-of-18 from the floor and was 5-of-9 from deep. Christiaan Jones rounded out the Hatters' top scorers with 13 points.
Overall, FGCU hit 21-of-48 from the floor and went 18-of-20 from the free throw line for one of its best performances of the year. The Hatters shot 25-of-54 and were limited to just 6-of-10 at the line.
Defensively, the Eagles were able to corral 23 defensive rebounds and did not allow a single second-chance point for the Hatters in the game.
Up Next:
The men will return to action this Thursday, Jan. 16 when Kennesaw State visits Alico Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 PM and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The women will stay on the road to face top-75 RPI North Florida (9-7, 2-1) on Monday at 7 p.m. The Ospreys are the last team to defeat the Eagles in conference play (Feb. 1, 2018, 75-73), which coincidentally also came when FGCU was ranked, although the Eagles were without the services of Adderly in that game.
FGCU MBB vs Lipscomb Recap
The FGCU men's basketball team (4-13, 1-1 A-SUN) never trailed through 40 minutes of play as it earned a 68-61 victory over Lipscomb (6-9, 1-1 A-SUN) on Saturday night at Alico Arena. The team shot a season-best 54.2 percent from the floor as it claimed its first conference win of the year over the Bisons' squad that advanced to last year's NIT final.
"Our postgame speech was an emphatic 'Great WIN' to the team – we needed that one and it was great to see the confidence which I think will grow from here," said head coach Michael Fly. "I think we're continuing to learn and grow; it's stressful to go through that, but it will make us better in the long term. The players were really locked in today and really did a great job executing the game plan throughout the night."
The Eagles opened up the game with their best start of the 2019-20 season, using an 19-2 run to stun the Bisons. Junior Sam Gagliardi led the early scoring for the home team as he shot 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the opening four minutes. At the first media timeout, FGCU led Lipscomb 19-4 just 4 minutes, 12 seconds into the game.
As the Bisons started to develop their rhythm on offense, the team threatened to cut FGCU's lead into single digits when Carson Cary capitalized on an Eagle turnover. Freshman Cyrus Largie responded to the push with a trey that re-extended the lead to 26-13 with just under 12 minutes to go.
For the first time all night, Lipscomb did trim the lead down to single digits thanks to a three-ball from Andrew Fleming that brought the Bisons within seven around the five-minute mark. Sophomores Caleb Catto and Zach Scott combined for six points in the final minutes of play, allowing the home team to take a 38-27 edge into the locker room.
In the opening 20 minutes, the Eagles shot 55.2 percent from the floor and 50 percent from long range. While the teams were evenly matched with 16 points apiece in the paint, FGCU held a 7-2 advantage in second-chance points, as well as a 9-2 edge in bench points.
The teams were fairly evenly matched coming out of the break, as both sides responded to one another on offense. Eventually, the Bisons were able to string together back-to-back plays that brought them as close as seven with just over 13 minutes to go in the game, the closest that they had gotten to the home team all night.
Throughout the final minutes of play, Lipscomb held FGCU's lead to single digits. The team used a 6-0 run over a span of a little more than two minutes to make it a 65-69 game with just under two minutes left in the game. Finally, senior Tracy Hector Jr. broke the seal for the Green and Blue by capitalizing on a trip to the charity stripe. He then went on to draw a crucial charge on the other end of the court that kept the Bisons at bay.
Catto put the game away with a pair of free throws in the final seconds as the Eagles eventually held on for the win.
The FGCU bench proved to be the one of the key difference-makers in the victory, as they outshot the opposition 21-4. Gagliardi led the offense, finishing the night with 14 points and was joined in the double-digit scoring by both Catto (13) and Scott (12).
Up Next:
The Eagles will hit the road for a two-game conference swing that will feature matchups against UNF (Jan. 9) and Stetson (Jan. 11). The game against the Ospreys (9-8, 2-0 A-SUN) is set for a 7 p.m. start and will be streamed on ESPN +. FGCU and the Hatters (7-10, 1-1 A-SUN) will face off in a 4 p.m. game that will also be shown on ESPN +.
"Our postgame speech was an emphatic 'Great WIN' to the team – we needed that one and it was great to see the confidence which I think will grow from here," said head coach Michael Fly. "I think we're continuing to learn and grow; it's stressful to go through that, but it will make us better in the long term. The players were really locked in today and really did a great job executing the game plan throughout the night."
The Eagles opened up the game with their best start of the 2019-20 season, using an 19-2 run to stun the Bisons. Junior Sam Gagliardi led the early scoring for the home team as he shot 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the opening four minutes. At the first media timeout, FGCU led Lipscomb 19-4 just 4 minutes, 12 seconds into the game.
As the Bisons started to develop their rhythm on offense, the team threatened to cut FGCU's lead into single digits when Carson Cary capitalized on an Eagle turnover. Freshman Cyrus Largie responded to the push with a trey that re-extended the lead to 26-13 with just under 12 minutes to go.
For the first time all night, Lipscomb did trim the lead down to single digits thanks to a three-ball from Andrew Fleming that brought the Bisons within seven around the five-minute mark. Sophomores Caleb Catto and Zach Scott combined for six points in the final minutes of play, allowing the home team to take a 38-27 edge into the locker room.
In the opening 20 minutes, the Eagles shot 55.2 percent from the floor and 50 percent from long range. While the teams were evenly matched with 16 points apiece in the paint, FGCU held a 7-2 advantage in second-chance points, as well as a 9-2 edge in bench points.
The teams were fairly evenly matched coming out of the break, as both sides responded to one another on offense. Eventually, the Bisons were able to string together back-to-back plays that brought them as close as seven with just over 13 minutes to go in the game, the closest that they had gotten to the home team all night.
Throughout the final minutes of play, Lipscomb held FGCU's lead to single digits. The team used a 6-0 run over a span of a little more than two minutes to make it a 65-69 game with just under two minutes left in the game. Finally, senior Tracy Hector Jr. broke the seal for the Green and Blue by capitalizing on a trip to the charity stripe. He then went on to draw a crucial charge on the other end of the court that kept the Bisons at bay.
Catto put the game away with a pair of free throws in the final seconds as the Eagles eventually held on for the win.
The FGCU bench proved to be the one of the key difference-makers in the victory, as they outshot the opposition 21-4. Gagliardi led the offense, finishing the night with 14 points and was joined in the double-digit scoring by both Catto (13) and Scott (12).
Up Next:
The Eagles will hit the road for a two-game conference swing that will feature matchups against UNF (Jan. 9) and Stetson (Jan. 11). The game against the Ospreys (9-8, 2-0 A-SUN) is set for a 7 p.m. start and will be streamed on ESPN +. FGCU and the Hatters (7-10, 1-1 A-SUN) will face off in a 4 p.m. game that will also be shown on ESPN +.
FGCU MBB @ USC Preview
Coming off a seven-day break for the holidays, the FGCU men's basketball team (3-11) closes out its non-conference slate with a cross-country trip to Southern California (10-2) on Sunday night (7 PM PT/10 PM ET). The match-up against the Trojans and former Eagles head coach Andy Enfield will be available via the PAC-12 Network.
FGCU picked up an 84-62 win over St. Thomas prior to a seven-day break between games for the holidays. The win snapped a six-game losing skid for the Eagles and improved FGCU to 3-5 this season at Alico Arena. Three players reached double-figures in the win paced by 19 from sophomore Zach Scott. Junior Jalen Warren had 16 points along with six rebounds and four assists, while sophomore Caleb Catto added 15 points.
Of the Eagles' 11 loses this season, a total of five have been decided by six-or-fewer points (1-4) for FGCU - reflective of a mostly new roster.
As a team, the Eagles rank among the top three in the A-SUN for 12 different statistical categories. FGCU leads the league in total steals (95), steals per game (6.8), total blocked shots (65), and blocked shots per game (4.6). Defensively, the Eagles rank third in the A-SUN in points allowed per game (69.5), but have struggled offensively with 61.1 points per outing which ranks seventh in the league.
Individually, Scott leads the league in total steals (26), Warren ranks third in total assists (46), freshman Dakota Rivers leads the league in total blocks (22), and junior Justus Rainwater ranks seventh in total rebounds (94).
Scott continues to lead the Eagles offensively, averaging 12.4 points per game. He has contributed double-digit points in all but five games. He is followed closely by Catto (10.4 ppg) and Warren (9.2 ppg). The trio has combined for 448 points, over half of the team's 856 total this year.
Warren and Catto have also done a great job of sharing the rock. Warren leads the team with 46 assists, while Catto has contributed 36.
Opponents have had a hard time shooting over Rainwater and Rivers, as the duo has combined for 42 blocks this year. Rivers is averaging 1.57 blocks per game, the 12th-most of any freshman in the nation.
Scouting USC:
USC enters the game with a 10-2 overall record including four consecutive wins and a 5-1 home record. The only home loss of the year came against Temple (70-61) on Nov. 22. A trio of Trojans are averaging double-figures led by Onyeka Okongwu's 17.7 points per game. Jonah Matthews is second on the team at 12.6 per night, while Nick Rakocevic is averaging 12.0 points. Okongwu also leads USC in rebounding with 9.0 boards per game.
This will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools with USC visiting Alico Arena next season. It will also mark the first time the Eagles have faced their former bench boss Andy Enfield who led FGCU to the magical Sweet Sixteen run of 2013. Enfield, who has close ties to current head coach Michael Fly and assistant coach Joey Cantens, finished his two seasons in Fort Myers with a 41-28 overall record.
Livestats Link: https://usctrojans.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Livestream Link: https://pac-12.com/live
FGCU MBB vs St. Thomas Recap
A 27-to-2 first half run led to the most points in a half this season as the FGCU men's basketball team went into its holiday break with an 84-62 win over St. Thomas on Saturday night at Alico Arena. The 52 points scored by the Eagles in the first half were the most for any half this season.
FGCU (3-11) will break for seven days before playing at Southern California on Dec. 29 (10 PM ET). The game will be available on the PAC-12 Network.
"A win is always good to get, especially after our recent stretch, and it is definitely encouraging to see the ball go through the net the way it was tonight," said head coach Michael Fly. "I thought we did a good job responding to how St. Thomas started the game. Before the game we talked about getting to the foul line - something that hasn't been happening as much recently. We got to the line 26 times tonight which I think shows us being aggressive around the rim."
Sophomore Zach Scott, junior Jalen Warren, and sophomore Caleb Catto led the Eagles with a combined 50 points. Scott scored a team-high 19 points, while Warren added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Junior Brian Thomas had seven points in his first home game of the year.
Justin Brown led St. Thomas (8-3) with a game-high 24 points while Ahmad Gilbert added 16 points.
After St. Thomas scored the first seven points of the game, the Eagles went on a 27-to-2 run over a nine minute stretch to go up 27-9 at the 7:40 mark. FGCU played stifling defense holding the Bobcats to 0-of-14 from the floor in that stretch while the Eagles hit 10-of-17 shots.
The Eagles closed the first half with a 9-to-1 run taking a 52-19 lead into the intermission. Scott led FGCU with 15 points in the opening half while Warren had 13 along with five rebounds and three assists.
Overall for the game, FGCU hit 29-of-60 field goals while the Bobcats went 20-of-61 from the floor. The Eagles held a 43-to-26 rebounding advantage which led to a 12-to-5 edge in second chance points. FGCU had a season high 21 assists.
FGCU MBB vs Robert Morris Recap
Early fouls came back to haunt the FGCU men's basketball team as it dropped a 64-59 result to Robert Morris on Saturday night at Alico Arena. In a game that saw nine lead changes and nine ties, it was ultimately the Colonials' trips to the charity stripe in the final minutes that made the difference.
"We're frustrated because I think we are a better team than our record shows. I thought tonight we saw us take some positive steps forward in certain areas, we're just a play or two away, unfortunately, from really having success. I still think we are going to mature into a good team, but the scoreboard just isn't indicating that right now. It's hard to win games when you are young and inexperienced. These are some growing pains that I know frustrate our fans, who have been so tremendously supportive of us, but I do see a bright future ahead for us."
Though FGCU (2-10) opened up the night with a 5-0 run, Robert Morris (3-8) eventually broke the seal around the 17-minute mark and proceeded to take its first lead of the game shortly after. Redshirt sophomore Malik Hardy gave the home team a 21-20 edge with two minutes left in the first half, but the Colonials responded with an 8-0 run to take a 28-21 advantage into the break.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Robert Morris continued to find success on the offensive end of the floor and led by as much as 11 at one point. The Green and Blue slowly chipped away at the lead until a dunk from junior Justus Rainwater and an ensuing free throw pulled the home team within two at the 11:36 mark.
FGCU eventually took its first lead since the opening half when senior Tracy Hector Jr. found sophomore Zach Scott, who made a layup that put the team up 46-45 with just under seven minutes to go. The Colonials used being in the bonus to their advantage and tried to pull away with free throws until Scott tied things up once again at 49 points apiece with five minutes left in the game.
The teams kept things close in the final minutes of play. Sophomore Caleb Catto's back-to-back treys regained the lead for the home team at 55-54 with four and a half minutes to go, but Robert Morris' trips to the charity stripe powered the visiting team past the Eagles.
A free throw by junior Jalen Warren cut the edge down to just three in the final seconds of play, but the home team could not find the momentum to overtake the Colonials.
Despite the loss, FGCU held a 28-20 advantage in points in the paint, which was boosted by a perfect 5-of-5 night from Rainwater. In addition to his 11-point contribution, both Scott (14) and Warren (12) finished with double-digit points. The Eagles also held a 38-36 advantage in second-half scoring, but it wasn't enough to overcome Robert Morris' first-half margin.
Up Next:
Following an 11-day break for exams, the Eagles will hit the road to take on South Dakota State on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Tip-off against the Jackrabbits is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
"We're frustrated because I think we are a better team than our record shows. I thought tonight we saw us take some positive steps forward in certain areas, we're just a play or two away, unfortunately, from really having success. I still think we are going to mature into a good team, but the scoreboard just isn't indicating that right now. It's hard to win games when you are young and inexperienced. These are some growing pains that I know frustrate our fans, who have been so tremendously supportive of us, but I do see a bright future ahead for us."
Though FGCU (2-10) opened up the night with a 5-0 run, Robert Morris (3-8) eventually broke the seal around the 17-minute mark and proceeded to take its first lead of the game shortly after. Redshirt sophomore Malik Hardy gave the home team a 21-20 edge with two minutes left in the first half, but the Colonials responded with an 8-0 run to take a 28-21 advantage into the break.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Robert Morris continued to find success on the offensive end of the floor and led by as much as 11 at one point. The Green and Blue slowly chipped away at the lead until a dunk from junior Justus Rainwater and an ensuing free throw pulled the home team within two at the 11:36 mark.
FGCU eventually took its first lead since the opening half when senior Tracy Hector Jr. found sophomore Zach Scott, who made a layup that put the team up 46-45 with just under seven minutes to go. The Colonials used being in the bonus to their advantage and tried to pull away with free throws until Scott tied things up once again at 49 points apiece with five minutes left in the game.
The teams kept things close in the final minutes of play. Sophomore Caleb Catto's back-to-back treys regained the lead for the home team at 55-54 with four and a half minutes to go, but Robert Morris' trips to the charity stripe powered the visiting team past the Eagles.
A free throw by junior Jalen Warren cut the edge down to just three in the final seconds of play, but the home team could not find the momentum to overtake the Colonials.
Despite the loss, FGCU held a 28-20 advantage in points in the paint, which was boosted by a perfect 5-of-5 night from Rainwater. In addition to his 11-point contribution, both Scott (14) and Warren (12) finished with double-digit points. The Eagles also held a 38-36 advantage in second-half scoring, but it wasn't enough to overcome Robert Morris' first-half margin.
Up Next:
Following an 11-day break for exams, the Eagles will hit the road to take on South Dakota State on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Tip-off against the Jackrabbits is slated for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
FGCU MBB vs Georgia Southern Recap
Georgia Southern used a 61.5 percent shooting effort in the second half to overcome the FGCU men's basketball team 72-57 on Sunday evening at Alico Arena. After the Green and Blue held the visiting Eagles to under 30 percent in the first half, Georgia Southern connected on 16-of-26 field goals in the second half to come back from a five-point halftime deficit.
"Unfortunately, tonight was a tale of two halves – we were the more aggressive team in the first half, we were up double-figures in the first half, we had the most energy in the first half, but Georgia Southern made a run in the second half to counter-punch us," said head coach Michael Fly. "We talked at the break that the first four minutes would be critical, but they won that stretch and we couldn't recover unfortunately. Credit Georgia Southern for how they were able to turn things around the last three minutes of the first half and into the second half."
Junior Sam Gagliardi led FGCU with 13 points highlighted by four three pointers. Junior Justus Rainwater nearly posted a double-double with 10 rebounds and eight points. Redshirt sophomore Malik Hardy rounded out the top scorers with nine points while adding four rebounds and two assists.
Georgia Southern (5-3) was led by 16 points from both Elijah McCadden and Ike Smith, while Quan Jackson added 15 points.
The first half saw the FGCU (2-8) take a 35-30 lead into the locker room as the defense held Georgia Southern under 30 percent shooting from the floor and Gagliardi hit all four of his three pointers for 12 points at the break. The home Eagles led by as many as 11, 35-24, with 1:55 before the intermission.
The second half was all Georgia Southern from the start, however, as the Eagles went on a 20-to-5 run opening up a 50-40 lead at the 11:40 mark.
FGCU cut the lead under double digits on five occasions after that including a jumper by freshman Jalen Harper, but Georgia Southern re-extended their lead to as many as 18 with 2:27 to go.
Freshman Dakota Rivers had a lay-up and a free throw in the last minute of play to give the final score.
Overall, FGCU shot 21-of-58 from the floor, while Georgia Southern finished 26-of-60. Georgia Southern also held a slight edge on the glass, 39-to-34, but were able to convert 12 rebounds into 17 second chance points compared to seven for FGCU.
FGCU will return to action on Wednesday night when the Eagles travel to Miami to face FIU (7 PM). The game will be streamed live on CUSA.tv.
"Unfortunately, tonight was a tale of two halves – we were the more aggressive team in the first half, we were up double-figures in the first half, we had the most energy in the first half, but Georgia Southern made a run in the second half to counter-punch us," said head coach Michael Fly. "We talked at the break that the first four minutes would be critical, but they won that stretch and we couldn't recover unfortunately. Credit Georgia Southern for how they were able to turn things around the last three minutes of the first half and into the second half."
Junior Sam Gagliardi led FGCU with 13 points highlighted by four three pointers. Junior Justus Rainwater nearly posted a double-double with 10 rebounds and eight points. Redshirt sophomore Malik Hardy rounded out the top scorers with nine points while adding four rebounds and two assists.
Georgia Southern (5-3) was led by 16 points from both Elijah McCadden and Ike Smith, while Quan Jackson added 15 points.
The first half saw the FGCU (2-8) take a 35-30 lead into the locker room as the defense held Georgia Southern under 30 percent shooting from the floor and Gagliardi hit all four of his three pointers for 12 points at the break. The home Eagles led by as many as 11, 35-24, with 1:55 before the intermission.
The second half was all Georgia Southern from the start, however, as the Eagles went on a 20-to-5 run opening up a 50-40 lead at the 11:40 mark.
FGCU cut the lead under double digits on five occasions after that including a jumper by freshman Jalen Harper, but Georgia Southern re-extended their lead to as many as 18 with 2:27 to go.
Freshman Dakota Rivers had a lay-up and a free throw in the last minute of play to give the final score.
Overall, FGCU shot 21-of-58 from the floor, while Georgia Southern finished 26-of-60. Georgia Southern also held a slight edge on the glass, 39-to-34, but were able to convert 12 rebounds into 17 second chance points compared to seven for FGCU.
FGCU will return to action on Wednesday night when the Eagles travel to Miami to face FIU (7 PM). The game will be streamed live on CUSA.tv.
FGCU MBB vs Campbell Recap
A nip-and-tuck battle for much of the night went the way of the visiting Camels as Campbell defeated the FGCU men's basketball team 51-46 on Saturday evening at Alico Arena. The game featured nine lead changes and six ties including 41-41 with 6:18 remaining in regulation.
The Eagles (2-7) will take on Georgia Southern on Sunday (5 PM) in the finale of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic. The defending Big South regular-season champion Camels (5-2) will take on North Dakota at Noon.
Redshirt sophomore Malik Hardy led all scorers with 13 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds – both career highs as well. Junior Jalen Warren added 10 points and five rebounds, while junior Justus Rainwater had nine points and seven rebounds to lead the Eagles.
Campbell was led by Cedric Henderson (seven rebounds) and Trey Spencer (six rebounds) who each had 10 points.
"I thought we had effort tonight, I thought we competed tonight and I thought we gave ourselves a chance to win the game," said head coach Michael Fly. "Their press slowed us down and obviously we are at our best when we're running and playing fast. I thought multiple times tonight we slowed down and got bogged down because of that. We held them to 38 percent shooting; normally when you hold a team to that, out-rebound them and get to the free throw line more you win the game – we just had a tough night shooting and couldn't convert on some key plays."
The Eagles led 26-25 at the break thanks to a jumper by sophomore Calen Catto and a triple by Hardy. In the final 2:16 of play.
In the second half, the Camels were able to go ahead early building out a five point lead for much of the first 10 minutes of the half. The Eagles were able to briefly retake the lead by a point, 39-38, with 8:12 to go after a Catto free throw.
After Campbell retook the lead on a pair of Henderson lay ups, a three-point play by Warren knotted the score at 41 each at the 6:18 mark.
Campbell then used a 8-to-0 run to take the largest lead of the game before five consecutive free throws by sophomore Zach Scott pulled the Eagles within three with seven seconds to go.
FGCU fouled on the ensuing possession with Austin McCullough hitting a pair of free throws putting Campbell back up 51-46. The Eagles were able to get a look at a three-pointer just after that, but it was off the mark allowing time to expire.
The Eagles were able to hold a 40-to-34 advantage on the glass, but struggled from the floor hitting just 12-of-55 field goals (22%). Defensively, FGCU was able to hold Campbell to 38 percent shooting (18-of-47). The tough shooting night for the Eagles negated a plus-10 advantage in free throws where they converted 19-of-22.
The Eagles (2-7) will take on Georgia Southern on Sunday (5 PM) in the finale of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic. The defending Big South regular-season champion Camels (5-2) will take on North Dakota at Noon.
Redshirt sophomore Malik Hardy led all scorers with 13 points and had a game-high 12 rebounds – both career highs as well. Junior Jalen Warren added 10 points and five rebounds, while junior Justus Rainwater had nine points and seven rebounds to lead the Eagles.
Campbell was led by Cedric Henderson (seven rebounds) and Trey Spencer (six rebounds) who each had 10 points.
"I thought we had effort tonight, I thought we competed tonight and I thought we gave ourselves a chance to win the game," said head coach Michael Fly. "Their press slowed us down and obviously we are at our best when we're running and playing fast. I thought multiple times tonight we slowed down and got bogged down because of that. We held them to 38 percent shooting; normally when you hold a team to that, out-rebound them and get to the free throw line more you win the game – we just had a tough night shooting and couldn't convert on some key plays."
The Eagles led 26-25 at the break thanks to a jumper by sophomore Calen Catto and a triple by Hardy. In the final 2:16 of play.
In the second half, the Camels were able to go ahead early building out a five point lead for much of the first 10 minutes of the half. The Eagles were able to briefly retake the lead by a point, 39-38, with 8:12 to go after a Catto free throw.
After Campbell retook the lead on a pair of Henderson lay ups, a three-point play by Warren knotted the score at 41 each at the 6:18 mark.
Campbell then used a 8-to-0 run to take the largest lead of the game before five consecutive free throws by sophomore Zach Scott pulled the Eagles within three with seven seconds to go.
FGCU fouled on the ensuing possession with Austin McCullough hitting a pair of free throws putting Campbell back up 51-46. The Eagles were able to get a look at a three-pointer just after that, but it was off the mark allowing time to expire.
The Eagles were able to hold a 40-to-34 advantage on the glass, but struggled from the floor hitting just 12-of-55 field goals (22%). Defensively, FGCU was able to hold Campbell to 38 percent shooting (18-of-47). The tough shooting night for the Eagles negated a plus-10 advantage in free throws where they converted 19-of-22.
FGCU MBB vs Florida Tech Recap
Behind 18 points from both junior Sam Gagliardi and freshman Dakota Rivers, the FGCU men's basketball team (2-5) rolled past Florida Tech, 73-59, on Tuesday night at Alico Arena. The 18 points for both players were season-highs with Gagliardi hitting six three pointers and Rivers going 7-of-10 from the floor.
The game marked the opening contest of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic which will resume with six more games from Friday through Sunday. The Eagles will next be in action on Friday at 7 PM against North Dakota. Fans are encouraged to bring canned food items to benefit the FGCU and Harry Chapin Food Banks along with new, unwrapped toys to donate to Toys for Tots and Golisano's Childrens Hospital.
Friday, Nov. 29
Campbell vs. Georgia Southern - 4:30 PM
FGCU vs. North Dakota - 7 PM
Saturday, Nov. 30
Georgia Southern vs. North Dakota - 4:30 PM
FGCU vs. Campbell - 7 PM
Sunday, Dec. 1
North Dakota vs. Campbell - Noon
FGCU vs. Georgia Southern - 5 PM
In Tuesday night's action, Gagliardi's six three pointers marked a season high as the junior has averaged 11.0 points over the last four games including tonight. In that same span, Rivers has also had a break-out stretch with three double-figure games and an average of 11.5 points. Nine players overall tallied points in the game including redshirt sophomore Malik Hardy who saw his first action as an Eagle recording five points in 13 minutes. Junior Justus Rainwater hauled in a season-high 12 rebounds which also served as a game-high.
"I thought Florida Tech did a great job being competitive against us tonight," said head coach Michael Fly. "We still need to improve on closing games out, especially when we have a double-digit lead. But I was encouraged that we out-rebounded them because they had some physical players and I was extremely pleased that we took care of the ball and had just 12 turnovers. We showed a lot of positives in the game and it's always good to get a win, especially at home. We still have some growth to see in certain areas, but I was happy overall with how we performed."
Sesan Russell led Florida Tech with 23 points as the top scorer on the night while adding nine rebounds. Mate Papai added nine points, while Trey Schaneville had eight points to lead the Panthers (2-3).
Overall, FGCU was bolstered by going 12-of-26 from beyond the arc compared to 6-of-18 for Florida Tech. The Eagles also converted 22 points off 17 FIT turnovers.
FGCU built out an early 13-2 lead in the first four minutes of play thanks to a pair of sophomore Zach Scott three pointers and the first of six for Gagliardi. Over the next six minutes, the Eagles lead stretched to 16 before going into the break up 42-24 on a Jalen Warren lay-up just before time expired.
The lead swelled to 19, 45-26, early in the second half on another Gagliardi three pointer and never dipped below double-figures for the remainder of the game. Florida Tech did manage to whittle it down to 57-47 with 9:40 to go, but the Eagles pushed it back to 19 over the next seven minutes.
The game marked the opening contest of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic which will resume with six more games from Friday through Sunday. The Eagles will next be in action on Friday at 7 PM against North Dakota. Fans are encouraged to bring canned food items to benefit the FGCU and Harry Chapin Food Banks along with new, unwrapped toys to donate to Toys for Tots and Golisano's Childrens Hospital.
Friday, Nov. 29
Campbell vs. Georgia Southern - 4:30 PM
FGCU vs. North Dakota - 7 PM
Saturday, Nov. 30
Georgia Southern vs. North Dakota - 4:30 PM
FGCU vs. Campbell - 7 PM
Sunday, Dec. 1
North Dakota vs. Campbell - Noon
FGCU vs. Georgia Southern - 5 PM
In Tuesday night's action, Gagliardi's six three pointers marked a season high as the junior has averaged 11.0 points over the last four games including tonight. In that same span, Rivers has also had a break-out stretch with three double-figure games and an average of 11.5 points. Nine players overall tallied points in the game including redshirt sophomore Malik Hardy who saw his first action as an Eagle recording five points in 13 minutes. Junior Justus Rainwater hauled in a season-high 12 rebounds which also served as a game-high.
"I thought Florida Tech did a great job being competitive against us tonight," said head coach Michael Fly. "We still need to improve on closing games out, especially when we have a double-digit lead. But I was encouraged that we out-rebounded them because they had some physical players and I was extremely pleased that we took care of the ball and had just 12 turnovers. We showed a lot of positives in the game and it's always good to get a win, especially at home. We still have some growth to see in certain areas, but I was happy overall with how we performed."
Sesan Russell led Florida Tech with 23 points as the top scorer on the night while adding nine rebounds. Mate Papai added nine points, while Trey Schaneville had eight points to lead the Panthers (2-3).
Overall, FGCU was bolstered by going 12-of-26 from beyond the arc compared to 6-of-18 for Florida Tech. The Eagles also converted 22 points off 17 FIT turnovers.
FGCU built out an early 13-2 lead in the first four minutes of play thanks to a pair of sophomore Zach Scott three pointers and the first of six for Gagliardi. Over the next six minutes, the Eagles lead stretched to 16 before going into the break up 42-24 on a Jalen Warren lay-up just before time expired.
The lead swelled to 19, 45-26, early in the second half on another Gagliardi three pointer and never dipped below double-figures for the remainder of the game. Florida Tech did manage to whittle it down to 57-47 with 9:40 to go, but the Eagles pushed it back to 19 over the next seven minutes.
FGCU MBB vs Florida Tech Preview
After a tough night offensively in a 78-48 loss at No. 19 VCU, one of the top defenses in the Atlantic 10, the FGCU men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday night as Florida Tech visits Alico Arena. The game is set for a 7 PM tip and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The game will be a White Out with a 'FansGiving' promotion. There will also be a Food Drive by the Department of Athletics collecting non-perishable items to be donated to the FGCU Food Pantry and the Harry Chapin Food Bank as part of #FeedFGCU which helps provide resources for those in need - particularly around the holidays. This Friday, Nov. 29, FGCU will also be accepting toy donations through Dec. 21 to benefit the Golisano Children's Hospital and Toys For Tots.
The match-up with Florida Tech will be the seventh meeting all-time with the Eagles holding a 6-0 record in the series. It will also mark the beginning of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic this week with games against North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern set for Friday (7 PM), Saturday (7 PM) and Sunday (5 PM).
The FGCU Classic will also feature non-conference games during the Thanksgiving weekend. On Friday, Campbell will face Georgia Southern at 4:30 PM, while Saturday will see North Dakota take on Georgia Southern. North Dakota and Campbell will then play on Sunday at Noon.
In Saturday's loss at No. 19 VCU, the Rams defense was the key to the game converting 27 FGCU turnovers into 37 points. A 20-2 run by VCU closed out the first half. The Eagles made strides to cut into the lead in the second half, but were unable to bridge the gap.
FGCU's opening stretch of road games to begin the year has racked up the frequent flyer mileage. The Eagles have traveled to the Midwest, covered nearly 95 percent of the Eastern Seaboard with the trip to Dartmouth and still have a cross country flight (2,650 miles) to USC later this season. The trip to Mercer was the shortest (510 miles), while the Eagles trip to Richmond to face VCU was 928 miles.
Sophomore Zach Scott continues to lead the Eagles with a career-best 14.0 points per game with Catto just behind with 12.7 points per outing - also a career-best mark. After leading the way in the win over FAU, Warren is now averaging 9.7 points per game which is third-best on the team.
After a slow start to the year, freshman Dakota Rivers had a breakout stretch in the Mercer and FAU games where he averaged 12 points after scoring seven total in the first three contests. Junior Sam Gagliardi averaged 10.5 points in those two games as well thanks to a combined 7-of-17 shooting from deep. Gagliardi opened the first three games going 3-of-16 and averaging 4.3 per game.
Of the five loses, UMBC and Dartmouth were by a combined 10 points with the Eagles in a spot to lead or tie the game late. In each of those games, FGCU played solid defensively overall holding each team to a combined 34.8 percent from the floor which would have ranked 37th nationally going into the Mercer game.
Florida Tech is 2-3 on the year after wins over Johnson and Puerto Rico-Bayamon before taking a loss at Saint Leo on Saturday night.
Sesan Russell leads the Panthers with 25.0 points per game followed by 14.4 per night from Runako Ziegler. Mehil Noble rounds out the top scorers with 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per night.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=285699
ESPN+ Link: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=f412cda3-6e61-45c0-a910-034feb8949c8
The game will be a White Out with a 'FansGiving' promotion. There will also be a Food Drive by the Department of Athletics collecting non-perishable items to be donated to the FGCU Food Pantry and the Harry Chapin Food Bank as part of #FeedFGCU which helps provide resources for those in need - particularly around the holidays. This Friday, Nov. 29, FGCU will also be accepting toy donations through Dec. 21 to benefit the Golisano Children's Hospital and Toys For Tots.
The match-up with Florida Tech will be the seventh meeting all-time with the Eagles holding a 6-0 record in the series. It will also mark the beginning of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic this week with games against North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern set for Friday (7 PM), Saturday (7 PM) and Sunday (5 PM).
The FGCU Classic will also feature non-conference games during the Thanksgiving weekend. On Friday, Campbell will face Georgia Southern at 4:30 PM, while Saturday will see North Dakota take on Georgia Southern. North Dakota and Campbell will then play on Sunday at Noon.
In Saturday's loss at No. 19 VCU, the Rams defense was the key to the game converting 27 FGCU turnovers into 37 points. A 20-2 run by VCU closed out the first half. The Eagles made strides to cut into the lead in the second half, but were unable to bridge the gap.
FGCU's opening stretch of road games to begin the year has racked up the frequent flyer mileage. The Eagles have traveled to the Midwest, covered nearly 95 percent of the Eastern Seaboard with the trip to Dartmouth and still have a cross country flight (2,650 miles) to USC later this season. The trip to Mercer was the shortest (510 miles), while the Eagles trip to Richmond to face VCU was 928 miles.
Sophomore Zach Scott continues to lead the Eagles with a career-best 14.0 points per game with Catto just behind with 12.7 points per outing - also a career-best mark. After leading the way in the win over FAU, Warren is now averaging 9.7 points per game which is third-best on the team.
After a slow start to the year, freshman Dakota Rivers had a breakout stretch in the Mercer and FAU games where he averaged 12 points after scoring seven total in the first three contests. Junior Sam Gagliardi averaged 10.5 points in those two games as well thanks to a combined 7-of-17 shooting from deep. Gagliardi opened the first three games going 3-of-16 and averaging 4.3 per game.
Of the five loses, UMBC and Dartmouth were by a combined 10 points with the Eagles in a spot to lead or tie the game late. In each of those games, FGCU played solid defensively overall holding each team to a combined 34.8 percent from the floor which would have ranked 37th nationally going into the Mercer game.
Florida Tech is 2-3 on the year after wins over Johnson and Puerto Rico-Bayamon before taking a loss at Saint Leo on Saturday night.
Sesan Russell leads the Panthers with 25.0 points per game followed by 14.4 per night from Runako Ziegler. Mehil Noble rounds out the top scorers with 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per night.
Livestats Link: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=285699
ESPN+ Link: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=f412cda3-6e61-45c0-a910-034feb8949c8
FGCU MBB @ VCU Recap
Sophomore Caleb Catto scored 14 points to lead the FGCU men's basketball team (1-5), but No. 19 VCU (5-0) proved too much on the defensive side of the ball in a 78-48 win over the Eagles on Saturday night at the Siegel Center. The Rams forced 27 turnovers which kept the Eagles offense out of sync for much of the night.
"They played about as we thought they would. We were able to hold them at bay for a bit early in the first half, but once they jumped on that big run, we could never get back into it. I have tremendous respect for Coach Rhoades and his staff and how they run their program," said head coach Michael Fly. "I told our team this was a growing experience and that the same year we went to the Sweet 16, we had a loss like this to VCU. A of times that year we referenced VCU and said these teams aren't better than VCU, that they won't pressure the same as VCU or that their fans aren't as raucous as VCU. We want to play teams like VCU which will help us grow while also helping reinforce the type of program we're trying to build here."
Catto set a career-high with four three pointers in the game to lead the Eagles (1-5). Junior Jalen Warren had seven points and five assists, while sophomore Zach Scott had a career-high eight rebounds.
The Rams were led by 16 points from Marcus Evans and 11 points from De'Riante Jenkins. Marcus Santos-Silva nearly had a double-double nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Statistically, the story of the game came down to the Rams turning 27 FGCU turnovers into 37 points. Between that and 19 offensive rebounds which led to 18 second chance points, VCU attempted 26 more shots than the Eagles for the game.
Overall, FGCU shot 19-of-50 (41%), while the Rams were 28-of-76 (30%) from the floor.
The Rams used a 10-to-0 run in the first half to open up a 16-2 lead at the 12:37 mark, but a Catto three-pointer 15 seconds later halted the home team momentum. Catto added two more triples after that as the Eagles cut the deficit to nine, 23-14, with 7:35 left before intermission.
The Rams strung together the 20-2 run, including 17 straight, after the Eagles cut the deficit to single digits and stretched its lead to 43-16 at the break.
VCU's pressure defense sparked much of its offense in the opening stanza as the Rams converted 16 FGCU turnovers into 22 points.
After Catto hit his fourth three-pointer of the night two minutes into the second half, the Rams scored 11 straight extending their lead to 56-21 at the 15:01 mark.
The Eagles continued to fight late in the game putting together a 13-to-1 run which cut the deficit to 21, 66-45, with 5:07 to go, but the Rams closed out the game scoring 12 of the last 15 points to give the final margin.
Up Next:
FGCU returns home to Alico Arena for the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic next week. The Eagles will host Florida Tech on Tuesday night (7 PM) before then hosting North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
"They played about as we thought they would. We were able to hold them at bay for a bit early in the first half, but once they jumped on that big run, we could never get back into it. I have tremendous respect for Coach Rhoades and his staff and how they run their program," said head coach Michael Fly. "I told our team this was a growing experience and that the same year we went to the Sweet 16, we had a loss like this to VCU. A of times that year we referenced VCU and said these teams aren't better than VCU, that they won't pressure the same as VCU or that their fans aren't as raucous as VCU. We want to play teams like VCU which will help us grow while also helping reinforce the type of program we're trying to build here."
Catto set a career-high with four three pointers in the game to lead the Eagles (1-5). Junior Jalen Warren had seven points and five assists, while sophomore Zach Scott had a career-high eight rebounds.
The Rams were led by 16 points from Marcus Evans and 11 points from De'Riante Jenkins. Marcus Santos-Silva nearly had a double-double nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Statistically, the story of the game came down to the Rams turning 27 FGCU turnovers into 37 points. Between that and 19 offensive rebounds which led to 18 second chance points, VCU attempted 26 more shots than the Eagles for the game.
Overall, FGCU shot 19-of-50 (41%), while the Rams were 28-of-76 (30%) from the floor.
The Rams used a 10-to-0 run in the first half to open up a 16-2 lead at the 12:37 mark, but a Catto three-pointer 15 seconds later halted the home team momentum. Catto added two more triples after that as the Eagles cut the deficit to nine, 23-14, with 7:35 left before intermission.
The Rams strung together the 20-2 run, including 17 straight, after the Eagles cut the deficit to single digits and stretched its lead to 43-16 at the break.
VCU's pressure defense sparked much of its offense in the opening stanza as the Rams converted 16 FGCU turnovers into 22 points.
After Catto hit his fourth three-pointer of the night two minutes into the second half, the Rams scored 11 straight extending their lead to 56-21 at the 15:01 mark.
The Eagles continued to fight late in the game putting together a 13-to-1 run which cut the deficit to 21, 66-45, with 5:07 to go, but the Rams closed out the game scoring 12 of the last 15 points to give the final margin.
Up Next:
FGCU returns home to Alico Arena for the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic next week. The Eagles will host Florida Tech on Tuesday night (7 PM) before then hosting North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
FGCU MBB @ VCU Preview
Coming off a thrilling 72-70 overtime win at home against FAU on Wednesday, the FGCU men's basketball team (1-4) hits the road to face #19 VCU (4-0) in Richmond, Va., on Saturday night (7 PM). The game will be televised regionally on MASN and streamed via ESPN+.
The match-up marks the first time the two teams have met since 2012 and is also the first time the Eagles have played a ranked team this year with the Rams checking in at No. 21 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
It is also the second time this season for FGCU to take on a team from the Atlantic 10. The Eagles opened the year at defending league champion Saint Louis.
In Wednesday's win at Alico Arena, junior Jalen Warren hit a floater in the lane just before the clock hit zero in overtime to seal a furious comeback win. The Eagles trailed by as many as 19 points in the game, but used a 41-point second half to force the extra session. Warren finished with a game-high and season-high 21 points with his game-winning bucket the No. 1 Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter.
Four Eagles, including Warren, finished the FAU game in double figures. Freshman Dakota Rivers scored a season-high 13 points, while sophomore Zach Scott tallied 11. Sophomore Caleb Catto netted 10 points to round out the top scorers.
The win was much needed after a tough opening stretch to the season which saw FGCU logging the frequent flier mileage. The Eagles have traveled to the Midwest, covered nearly 95 percent of the Eastern Seaboard with the trip to Dartmouth and still have a cross country flight (2,650 miles) to USC later this season.
Scott continues to lead the Eagles with a career-best 15.6 points per game with Catto just behind with 12.6 points per outing - also a career-best mark. After leading the way in the win over FAU, Warren is now averaging 10.2 points per game which is third-best on the team.
After a slow start to the year, Rivers has had a breakout stretch in the last two games averaging 12 points after scoring seven total in the first three contests. Junior Sam Gagliardi has averaged 10.5 points over the last two games as well thanks to a combined 7-of-17 shooting from deep. Gagliardi opened the first three games going 3-of-16 and averaging 4.3 per game.
Of the four loses, UMBC and Dartmouth were by a combined 10 points with the Eagles in a spot to lead or tie the game late. In each of those games, FGCU played solid defensively overall holding each team to a combined 34.8 percent from the floor which would have ranked 37th nationally going into the Mercer game.
Scouting VCU:
VCU is 4-0 on the year including a three-point win over North Texas, an 84-82 win over No. 23 LSU and a 93-65 win over Jacksonville State.
Marcus Santos-Silva anchors the Rams averaging a double-double with 12.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Marcus Evans is the team's leading scorer at 12.5 points, while De'Riante Jenkins is averaing 10.8 points.
In the win over Jacksonville State, VCU forced 21 turnovers and had six players in double-figures. The Rams shot 57.6 percent for the game and built out a 43-24 lead after the first half.
The Eagles will return home next week to host the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic at Alico Arena during the Thanksgiving break. The action starts on Tuesday against Florida Tech (7 PM) before hosting North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The match-up marks the first time the two teams have met since 2012 and is also the first time the Eagles have played a ranked team this year with the Rams checking in at No. 21 in the AP poll and No. 19 in the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
It is also the second time this season for FGCU to take on a team from the Atlantic 10. The Eagles opened the year at defending league champion Saint Louis.
In Wednesday's win at Alico Arena, junior Jalen Warren hit a floater in the lane just before the clock hit zero in overtime to seal a furious comeback win. The Eagles trailed by as many as 19 points in the game, but used a 41-point second half to force the extra session. Warren finished with a game-high and season-high 21 points with his game-winning bucket the No. 1 Play of the Day on ESPN's SportsCenter.
Four Eagles, including Warren, finished the FAU game in double figures. Freshman Dakota Rivers scored a season-high 13 points, while sophomore Zach Scott tallied 11. Sophomore Caleb Catto netted 10 points to round out the top scorers.
The win was much needed after a tough opening stretch to the season which saw FGCU logging the frequent flier mileage. The Eagles have traveled to the Midwest, covered nearly 95 percent of the Eastern Seaboard with the trip to Dartmouth and still have a cross country flight (2,650 miles) to USC later this season.
Scott continues to lead the Eagles with a career-best 15.6 points per game with Catto just behind with 12.6 points per outing - also a career-best mark. After leading the way in the win over FAU, Warren is now averaging 10.2 points per game which is third-best on the team.
After a slow start to the year, Rivers has had a breakout stretch in the last two games averaging 12 points after scoring seven total in the first three contests. Junior Sam Gagliardi has averaged 10.5 points over the last two games as well thanks to a combined 7-of-17 shooting from deep. Gagliardi opened the first three games going 3-of-16 and averaging 4.3 per game.
Of the four loses, UMBC and Dartmouth were by a combined 10 points with the Eagles in a spot to lead or tie the game late. In each of those games, FGCU played solid defensively overall holding each team to a combined 34.8 percent from the floor which would have ranked 37th nationally going into the Mercer game.
Scouting VCU:
VCU is 4-0 on the year including a three-point win over North Texas, an 84-82 win over No. 23 LSU and a 93-65 win over Jacksonville State.
Marcus Santos-Silva anchors the Rams averaging a double-double with 12.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Marcus Evans is the team's leading scorer at 12.5 points, while De'Riante Jenkins is averaing 10.8 points.
In the win over Jacksonville State, VCU forced 21 turnovers and had six players in double-figures. The Rams shot 57.6 percent for the game and built out a 43-24 lead after the first half.
The Eagles will return home next week to host the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic at Alico Arena during the Thanksgiving break. The action starts on Tuesday against Florida Tech (7 PM) before hosting North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
FGCU MBB vs FAU Recap
A buzzer-beater by junior Jalen Warren handed the FGCU men's basketball team its first win of the season as the Eagles downed cross-state rival FAU in overtime by a score of 72-70 Wednesday night at Alico Arena. The shot capped off a career night for Warren who finished with a career-high 21 points and matched his season best with five assists.
"I told the guys that in my time here, this was probably as good of a win in terms of pride in our program since I've been with FGCU. I can't recall coming back from that many - I think we were down 19 in the second half," said head coach Michael Fly. "We've had some good comebacks and it reminded me of the Lipscomb tournament game a few years ago where we kept coming back but didn't have enough to get over the hump. I kept telling them – make sure you know you are going win this game. Overall, I'm just really proud of our guys and their effort."
The game saw limited action in the opening minutes of play, as it took the teams almost a full two minutes to get on the board. The Owls (2-3) were the first to do so, as Richardson Maitre nailed a jumper to put the visitors up 2-0. Junior Sam Gagliardi responded for the Eagles (1-4), pouring in a baseline trey.
From there, it was quiet on the Green and Blue front as FAU used a 20-2 run to pull away from the home team. The Owls kept the momentum in their favor taking a 29-16 lead into the break.
The second half was an entirely different story, as there were seven lead changes and six ties. While FGCU and FAU were evenly matched coming out of the break, junior Justus Rainwater punctuated a turnover forced by Warren with a dunk, pulling the Eagles within nine.
With just under six minutes to go, momentum began to shift in favor of the home team. Freshman Dakota Rivers got things started with an old fashioned three-point play that cut the Owls' lead down to seven. Warren tipped the following inbound pass to sophomore Caleb Catto, who drilled a three-pointer that pulled the FGCU within five.
In the final minutes of regulation, the Eagles outscored the Owls 9-5 and forced the game into overtime with Warren scored the deciding layup with less than a minute to go, marking the first time the team played past regulation since an overtime victory at USC Upstate on Feb. 18, 2017. FGCU outscored FAU 41-28 in the second half thanks to a 53 percent shooting effort.
The teams went back-and-forth to start of the overtime period, but sophomore Zach Scott handed the team its largest lead of the game – three points – with a layup that put the Eagles up 60-63 with three minutes left.
Scott and Gagliardi each contributed crucial points for FGCU during the final plays of the night, but it was ultimately Warren whose floater proved to be the deciding factor as the team claimed its victory.
In addition to Warren's career night, multiple Eagles tallied personal bests. Rivers tallied a career-high 13 points, while Rainwater corralled 10 rebounds. Scott finished the night with 11 points, while Catto had 10 in the win.
FAU was led by Michael Forrest who had 16 points.
Up Next:
FGCU will remain at Alico Arena to host the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic. The Thanksgiving tournament is set to run from Nov. 26 – Dec. 1 and will feature Florida Tech, North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern. The Eagles' first game of the tournament will be on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. as the team is set to take on Florida Tech.
"I told the guys that in my time here, this was probably as good of a win in terms of pride in our program since I've been with FGCU. I can't recall coming back from that many - I think we were down 19 in the second half," said head coach Michael Fly. "We've had some good comebacks and it reminded me of the Lipscomb tournament game a few years ago where we kept coming back but didn't have enough to get over the hump. I kept telling them – make sure you know you are going win this game. Overall, I'm just really proud of our guys and their effort."
The game saw limited action in the opening minutes of play, as it took the teams almost a full two minutes to get on the board. The Owls (2-3) were the first to do so, as Richardson Maitre nailed a jumper to put the visitors up 2-0. Junior Sam Gagliardi responded for the Eagles (1-4), pouring in a baseline trey.
From there, it was quiet on the Green and Blue front as FAU used a 20-2 run to pull away from the home team. The Owls kept the momentum in their favor taking a 29-16 lead into the break.
The second half was an entirely different story, as there were seven lead changes and six ties. While FGCU and FAU were evenly matched coming out of the break, junior Justus Rainwater punctuated a turnover forced by Warren with a dunk, pulling the Eagles within nine.
With just under six minutes to go, momentum began to shift in favor of the home team. Freshman Dakota Rivers got things started with an old fashioned three-point play that cut the Owls' lead down to seven. Warren tipped the following inbound pass to sophomore Caleb Catto, who drilled a three-pointer that pulled the FGCU within five.
In the final minutes of regulation, the Eagles outscored the Owls 9-5 and forced the game into overtime with Warren scored the deciding layup with less than a minute to go, marking the first time the team played past regulation since an overtime victory at USC Upstate on Feb. 18, 2017. FGCU outscored FAU 41-28 in the second half thanks to a 53 percent shooting effort.
The teams went back-and-forth to start of the overtime period, but sophomore Zach Scott handed the team its largest lead of the game – three points – with a layup that put the Eagles up 60-63 with three minutes left.
Scott and Gagliardi each contributed crucial points for FGCU during the final plays of the night, but it was ultimately Warren whose floater proved to be the deciding factor as the team claimed its victory.
In addition to Warren's career night, multiple Eagles tallied personal bests. Rivers tallied a career-high 13 points, while Rainwater corralled 10 rebounds. Scott finished the night with 11 points, while Catto had 10 in the win.
FAU was led by Michael Forrest who had 16 points.
Up Next:
FGCU will remain at Alico Arena to host the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic. The Thanksgiving tournament is set to run from Nov. 26 – Dec. 1 and will feature Florida Tech, North Dakota, Campbell and Georgia Southern. The Eagles' first game of the tournament will be on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. as the team is set to take on Florida Tech.
FGCU MBB @ Dartmouth Recap
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.
"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.
FGCU MBB vs UMBC Recap
A late 16-to-2 run by UMBC in the final moments of the second half propelled the Retrievers to a 65-61 win over the FGCU men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon at Alico Arena. The Eagles led by 10 points with 5:01 left in the game before UMBC was able to mount the comeback to spoil the 2019-20 home opener.
FGCU (0-2) was led by sophomore Caleb Catto who had 15 points and six rebounds alongside junior Jalen Warren who posted a season-high 14 points. Sophomore Zach Scott chipped in 11 points, while freshman Dakota Rivers led the Eagles with a season-high eight rebounds.
"I'm definitely frustrated because I think that's a game we could have and should have won," said head coach Michael Fly. "I thought we controlled it for 37 to 38 minutes. I told the team that this is part of the learning experience - how to close out games. A lot of really good teams are 0-2 in college basketball right now and nobody is going to be the same in January/February as to what they are now. My hope is that this type of situation is one we win in the next two-to-three weeks."
The Retrievers had 21 points from both L.J. Owens and former Eagle Darnell Rogers while Keondre Kennedy added 10 points to round out the top scorers. Rogers scored four points in the final 64 seconds including a pair of free throws to push the lead to four, while Owens hit a three-pointer which gave UMBC (2-0) its first lead since midway through the first half.
Overall, FGCU shot 30.2 percent from the field and was 5-of-24 from beyond the arc. Both teams attempted 37 field goals in a game which featured 54 combined fouls. The Eagles went 24-of-37 from the stripe, while UMBC was 21-of-37.
After the Retrievers built out a 15-9 lead in the first 6:30 of play, the Eagles scored six straight in just over a minute to tie the game. FGCU then cranked up the defense to hold UMBC without a field goal for an eight minute stretch and built out a 41-31 lead at the intermission.
UMBC chipped away for the bulk of the second half with FGCU able to keep extending the lead to 10 points. After a Rogers triple at the 8:30 mark cut the Eagles' lead to five, 54-49, a Rivers dunk followed by a Warren free throw and a Scott lay-up on the fast break pushed the advantage back to double-figures with just over five minutes remaining.
From there, the Retrievers were able to take advantage of a cold stretch for the Eagles who missed their final six shots from the field as UMBC made its run. FGCU had a chance to tie the game with six seconds to go, but missed a jump shot which led to two free throws by Rogers. On the ensuing inbounds, the Eagles went the full court looking for the quick lay-up to pull within a possession, but missed with the Retrievers clearing the defensive board for the win as time expired.
FGCU (0-2) was led by sophomore Caleb Catto who had 15 points and six rebounds alongside junior Jalen Warren who posted a season-high 14 points. Sophomore Zach Scott chipped in 11 points, while freshman Dakota Rivers led the Eagles with a season-high eight rebounds.
"I'm definitely frustrated because I think that's a game we could have and should have won," said head coach Michael Fly. "I thought we controlled it for 37 to 38 minutes. I told the team that this is part of the learning experience - how to close out games. A lot of really good teams are 0-2 in college basketball right now and nobody is going to be the same in January/February as to what they are now. My hope is that this type of situation is one we win in the next two-to-three weeks."
The Retrievers had 21 points from both L.J. Owens and former Eagle Darnell Rogers while Keondre Kennedy added 10 points to round out the top scorers. Rogers scored four points in the final 64 seconds including a pair of free throws to push the lead to four, while Owens hit a three-pointer which gave UMBC (2-0) its first lead since midway through the first half.
Overall, FGCU shot 30.2 percent from the field and was 5-of-24 from beyond the arc. Both teams attempted 37 field goals in a game which featured 54 combined fouls. The Eagles went 24-of-37 from the stripe, while UMBC was 21-of-37.
After the Retrievers built out a 15-9 lead in the first 6:30 of play, the Eagles scored six straight in just over a minute to tie the game. FGCU then cranked up the defense to hold UMBC without a field goal for an eight minute stretch and built out a 41-31 lead at the intermission.
UMBC chipped away for the bulk of the second half with FGCU able to keep extending the lead to 10 points. After a Rogers triple at the 8:30 mark cut the Eagles' lead to five, 54-49, a Rivers dunk followed by a Warren free throw and a Scott lay-up on the fast break pushed the advantage back to double-figures with just over five minutes remaining.
From there, the Retrievers were able to take advantage of a cold stretch for the Eagles who missed their final six shots from the field as UMBC made its run. FGCU had a chance to tie the game with six seconds to go, but missed a jump shot which led to two free throws by Rogers. On the ensuing inbounds, the Eagles went the full court looking for the quick lay-up to pull within a possession, but missed with the Retrievers clearing the defensive board for the win as time expired.
FGCU vs UMBC Preview
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).
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).
FGCU MBB @ Saint Louis Recap
A 19-to-0 first half run for Saint Louis, the defending Atlantic 10 champions, proved the difference maker on Tuesday night as the Billikens down the FGCU men's basketball team 89-67 at Chaifetz Arena in the season-opener for both squads. The Eagles played an even second half, 49-49, on the road thanks in part to 19 points from Zach Scott as part of his game-high 23 for the evening.
"I thought we did some really positive things in the second half; we played more relaxed and had better ball movement," said head coach Michael Fly. "We weren't able to string together enough stops, but I thought there were some good things to build upon from an offensive and attacking standpoint going into UMBC. I was disappointed in the first half with our toughness - that was one of our biggest talking points going into the game was controlling rebounding and getting loose balls. Saint Louis was more aggressive team in the first half."
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.
Joining Scott in leading the Eagles was fellow sophomore Caleb Catto who had a career-best 16 points to go with four assists. Catto had 11 points in the second half as FGCU (0-1) kept pace with Saint Louis, 49-49. In his FGCU debut, Jalen Harper notched nine points going 3-of-4 from behind the three-point line.
"Realistically, Zach and Caleb did some good things for us tonight and as sophomores are still growing and maturing as leaders," said Fly. "Overall I think our team is in that space as well and with as many new guys that we have, they are still trying to get comfortable with each other. The good thing is that this is early November and I think our best basketball is in front of us."
Saint Louis (1-0) was led by Hasahn French's 20 points, while Jordan Goodwin added 18 points and nine rebounds. Fred Thatch, Jr. scored 11 points to round out the top scorers. The Eagles limited French in the first half to just four points.
The Billikens held a 41-to-28 advantage in rebounding which led to a 10-point edge in second change points. They also converted 18 FGCU miscues into 17 points. Overall, the Eagles shot 46 percent from the floor for the game, but saw that rise to 61 percent in the second half which included a 10-of-17 effort from deep.
"I thought we did some really positive things in the second half; we played more relaxed and had better ball movement," said head coach Michael Fly. "We weren't able to string together enough stops, but I thought there were some good things to build upon from an offensive and attacking standpoint going into UMBC. I was disappointed in the first half with our toughness - that was one of our biggest talking points going into the game was controlling rebounding and getting loose balls. Saint Louis was more aggressive team in the first half."
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.
Joining Scott in leading the Eagles was fellow sophomore Caleb Catto who had a career-best 16 points to go with four assists. Catto had 11 points in the second half as FGCU (0-1) kept pace with Saint Louis, 49-49. In his FGCU debut, Jalen Harper notched nine points going 3-of-4 from behind the three-point line.
"Realistically, Zach and Caleb did some good things for us tonight and as sophomores are still growing and maturing as leaders," said Fly. "Overall I think our team is in that space as well and with as many new guys that we have, they are still trying to get comfortable with each other. The good thing is that this is early November and I think our best basketball is in front of us."
Saint Louis (1-0) was led by Hasahn French's 20 points, while Jordan Goodwin added 18 points and nine rebounds. Fred Thatch, Jr. scored 11 points to round out the top scorers. The Eagles limited French in the first half to just four points.
The Billikens held a 41-to-28 advantage in rebounding which led to a 10-point edge in second change points. They also converted 18 FGCU miscues into 17 points. Overall, the Eagles shot 46 percent from the floor for the game, but saw that rise to 61 percent in the second half which included a 10-of-17 effort from deep.
Up Next:
FGCU will return to Alico Arena on Saturday, Nov. 9 to open the home schedule as fellow NCAA Cinderella UMBC visits Fort Myers for the second consecutive meeting between two clubs that have made national headlines. The tip is set for 3 PM and the game will be available on ESPN+. Limited tickets are still available by calling 239-590-7145, stopping by Alico Arena, or visiting www.FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets.
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