Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com
NASHVILLE – Lipscomb (6-16, 2-3 A-Sun) made a school-record 19 3-pointers Sunday afternoon to defeat FGCU (13-8, 4-1 A-Sun) by a 91-75 score in an Atlantic Sun Conference matchup, stopping the Eagles’ winning streak at seven and preventing them from starting 5-0 in the league for the first time in program history.
FGCU entered the game ranked 2nd nationally in 3-point percentage defense, limiting opponents to just .272 from beyond the arc – a category it finished 5th in the country in last year. Lipscomb came into the contest ranked 2nd nationally in 3-pointers made with 225. The Bisons connected on 11-18 3-point attempts in the first half and 8-15 in the second half to finish 19-33 (57.6 percent).
The 19 makes are the most by an opponent in FGCU’s Division-I program history (since 2007-08) and are tied for the most by any opponent in program history (since 2002-03). Lipscomb actually had the previous record against FGCU in the D-I era with 17 in 2010-11, while Florida College made 19 versus the Eagles in their inaugural season. The 19 connections from beyond the arc are also tied for the most by any D-I team in the nation this year.
Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) tallied a team-best 19 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to lead a quartet of double-figure scorers for FGCU. Julian DeBose (Washington, D.C/Rice/St. John College HS) added 17, Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) netted 13 and Rayjon Tucker (Charlotte, N.C./Northside Christian Academy) scored 10.
“Lipscomb played very well. They came in focused and with a lot of confidence off a win the other night,” stated FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. “The basket got real big early for them and it stayed big. We usually defend the 3-point line pretty well, but we had some lapses and they made plays and took advantage.”
FGCU entered the contest leading the A-Sun in points allowed at fewer than 70 per game, but the 91 scored by the Bisons are the most the Eagles have surrendered in a regulation game this year. Lipscomb connected at a 55.2-percent clip (32-58) from the floor, the first Eagles’ opponent this year to shoot better than 50 percent.
Norelia scored the first points of the game off an offensive putback, but Lipscomb responded with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes and the Eagles weren’t able to get closer than five the rest of the night against the torrid-shooting Bisons.
J.C. Hampton led that attack for Lipscomb with a game-high 26 points, including 6-10 from 3-point range. He paced a quintet of double-figure scorers as Garrison Mathews scored 15 and Brett Wishon tallied 14 off the bench, Nathan Moran added 13 and Cam Miller contributed 12 for the Bisons, who had assists on 23 of their 32 field goals.
The typically reliable FGCU bench was out-scored, 34-31, for the first time in 10 games dating back to a 25-11 deficit against South Dakota State. The Eagles were again without part-time starting forward Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) as the 6-9 redshirt junior missed his fourth-straight contest to rest a muscle bruise in his right leg. FGCU out-rebounded the Bisons, 33-30, and it turned into a 16-4 edge in second-chance points, but it wasn’t enough.
For Norelia, it marked the ninth time this year he’s led FGCU in scoring, while DeBose’s 17 points are his second most on the season and move him within 31 of 1,000 for his career. Johnson – who leads FGCU in scoring in A-Sun games at a little over 15 per contest – reached double-figure points for the eighth-straight game, and Tucker capped a strong weekend in which he totaled 29 points.
The Eagles’ seven-game winning streak remains tied with a pair of runs by the 2012-13 Sweet Sixteen team – which lost twice in the regular season that year to Lipscomb – as the second-longest streak in D-I program history. By starting 4-1 in the A-Sun, FGCU matches the program’s best start along with the 2013-14 club.
The game was postponed from Saturday afternoon by league officials who deemed travel too dangerous after Winter Storm Jonas dropped eight inches of snow in downtown Nashville – the most in 13 years – and more than a foot in surrounding higher-elevation areas. FGCU still remains in second place in the A-Sun as leader North Florida (5-0) had its game postponed as well and will face NJIT (2-2) Sunday night.
FGCU will look to bounce back from its first loss in nearly a month when it returns home to face upstart Jacksonville, which is 11-11 on the year but just a game behind the Eagles in the conference standings at 3-2. Tipoff on Wednesday from Alico Arena is set for 7 p.m.
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