FGCU puts on a show, makes plays late to pick up win at Georgia Southern

Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com

STATESBORO, Ga. – Dunk City lived up to its moniker with a season-high seven slams, the Eagles shot a gaudy 61.4 percent from the floor and FGCU (5-3) secured its fourth-straight win with an 85-82 decision at Georgia Southern (4-4) Sunday afternoon.

Playing in front of several friends and family, Norcross, Ga., native Brandon Goodwin (UCF/Norcross HS) posted his second career double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 assists – two helpers more than the entire Georgia Southern team. Antravious Simmons secured his second double-double of the year and fourth of his career with 13 points and a career-high-tying 12 rebounds.

Christian Terrell led FGCU offensively with 17 points – including a game-sealing 3-pointer in the closing minute – and Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) added 16 points and a career-best nine assists as the Eagles earned their first road triumph of the campaign.

FGCU – ranked #19 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll – led by double figures most of the 2nd half, but Georgia Southern pulled within three, 79-76, with 2 minutes remaining. On the ensuing Eagles’ possession, Rayjon Tucker (Charlotte, N.C./Northside Christian Academy) gathered an important loose ball and converted a contested shot off the glass to push the lead back to five, 81-76.

Georgia Southern made it a four-point differential, 81-77, with a free throw, but with 36 seconds remaining Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to extend the lead to seven and put the game out of reach as Georgia Southern hit a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“At the end of the day, it’s a road win and those are hard to come by,” commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. “It was a good step for our team. After giving up a big run in the 1st half to allow them to get back into the game, we had our bearings back a little bit better in the 2nd half. But when we had a chance to put the game out of reach we didn’t, and I’m a little disappointed in that.”

The 61.4-percent performance (35-57) from the floor for FGCU is tied for the best in the program’s non-conference history against a Division-I opponent (TCU, Nov. 11, 2011). Overall, it’s tied for the 5th- best all-time, and tied for the 3rd-highest versus D-I foes.

The win was the 150th in FGCU’s D-I history (2007-08), and since 2012-13, the Eagles are now an impressive 96-52.

FGCU pushed the tempo from the outset and raced to a quick 14-point lead, capped by an impressive sequence of a Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) block, transition push by Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) and alley-oop finish by Tucker to put the Eagles in front, 20-6 not even 7 minutes in.

However, Georgia Southern responded with 15-0 run to take a one-point edge, 21-20. That would end up being the Sun Belt Conference member’s only lead of the afternoon – a 41-second span – as Johnson put FGCU back in front with a 3-pointer to spearheaded a 12-0 Green and Blue stretch. That was bookended with a terrific effort from Johnson, who dove for a steal and then passed the ball ahead to Goodwin, who threw down a one-handed dunk.

Georgia Southern pulled back within three, 36-33, with a 9-0 run, but an important 6-0 closing stretch by FGCU gave the Eagles a 42-33 halftime lead.

The hosts came out of the locker room with two fast buckets to get their deficit down to five, 42-37, before FGCU commenced a 12-2 run and built a 15-point lead, 54-39, following a Morant tip-in. The lead swelled to 17, 69-52, after a Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) layup at the 10:28 mark.

Georgia Southern eventually started to chip away and trimmed the margin all the way to the aforementioned three, but FGCU stood firm against a team which was also looking for its 4th-straight win.

Ike Smith led all scorers with 23 points, while Tookie Brown added 21 for Georgia Southern. B.J. Gladden came off the bench to net 12 points, and Mike Hughes contributed 10 to round out a quintet of double-figure scorers for the Eagles.

Both teams returned the majority of their offensive production from last season. Georgia Southern had been receiving votes in the mid-major poll until this week, and presented a potent 3-point attack which FGCU – as has become the norm – shut down.

FGCU limited Georgia Southern to just 25-percent shooting (5-20) from 3-point range – 15 percent below its season average – and one of the makes came just before the buzzer.

The contest was the first of a home and home with Georgia Southern this year as the Eagles will head to Alico Arena in 10 days for a Dec. 13 meeting with FGCU.

Next up, FGCU will break for final exams before returning to action at home in the second game of a doubleheader with the women’s team on Friday at 8 p.m. against Siena. The Saints – from the Capital Region of New York – won 21 games last year and played in the CBI.