Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com
DUNK CITY, Fla. – The FGCU men’s basketball team (7-4) committed a season-high-tying 19 turnovers and shot below 40 percent from the floor for just the second time this year as the Eagles had their six-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Georgia Southern (5-5) Tuesday night at Alico Arena, 72-59.
The two teams were playing for the second time in 10 days, and like FGCU did in Statesboro, Ga., last Sunday, Georgia Southern controlled the game for the most part. FGCU entered the contest ranked 5th in the nation in field goal percentage at 52.4, but struggled to just a 39.2-percent clip (20-51) against Georgia Southern. Additionally, FGCU came into the game ranked ninth in the country in 3-point percentage at 41.9 percent, but shot a season-low 16.7 percent (4-24) as the Eagles had their 11-game home winning streak stopped.
The bright spot for FGCU came from Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) as the redshirt senior secured his third career double-double with 11 points and a career-best 17 rebounds. The 17 caroms are the 4th-most in a single-game Division-I program history, two shy of matching the record of 19 held by Nate Hicks in a double-overtime game against USF in 2013. The lengthy 6-9 forward also rejected a game-high three shots, the third time in the last five contests he’s blocked at least three shots.
For the seventh time through 11 games, Brandon Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) led, or tied, FGCU in scoring with 13 points, a total matched by Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS). Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) netted 10 points to finish as FGCU’s fourth double-figure scorer, and also added a season-high-tying five rebounds. Goodwin grabbed a season-best six rebounds and passed out a team-high three assists.
FGCU entered the night having only trailed for a total of 2 minutes over its previous four games, but led for just 2 minutes and 36 seconds against Georgia Southern. The Eagles held 4-0, 4-3 and 10-8 leads, but following a 3-pointer from B.J. Gladden at the 14:13 mark of the 1st half to put Georgia Southern up 11-10, the Sun Belt Conference member never trailed.
“From beginning to end, Georgia Southern controlled the energy and tempo,” stated FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. “They deserve credit for that. Energy finds the ball, and they had more energy tonight.
“With that being said, Meech was terrific,” added Dooley in reference to Morant’s record-setting evening. “His effort was great. His energy has been turned up, and he needs to keep it there. His effort was exemplary on both ends.”
Morant – who played a career-high 36 minutes – grabbed six offensive rebounds and 11 defensive rebounds, and was a perfect 5-5 from the floor. He is now shooting an incredible 74.5 percent (35-47) from the floor this year.
It wasn’t quite incredible, but Georgia Southern’s effort against FGCU’s top-5 nationally-ranked perimeter defense was impressive. FGCU entered the game ranked 5th in the country by holding opponents to just 25.5 percent from beyond the arc, but Georgia Southern made nine of 28 attempts for 32.1 percent as part of a larger 42.4 percent (25-59) effort from the floor.
Ike Smith led Georgia Southern with 16 points, Tookie Brown added 15 and Mike Hughes contributed 12 to round out the double-figure scoring trio. Smith grabbed a team-high seven rebounds as the two sides each pulled down 38 rebounds.
The 13-point loss is tied for the 3rd-largest at home in FGCU’s non-conference D-I history (since 2007-08). The only bigger losses were by 19 in the inaugural home opener in 2007 to Drexel, 77-58, and by 18 to Iona in December of 2013, 90-72.
FGCU will look to bounce back as it begins a challenging two-game road trip which starts in Philadelphia against La Salle on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Explorers are 4-4 on the year, but have played a tough schedule, including their last two games against Georgetown and 1 Villanova – the latter resulting in just a 10-point loss. FGCU and the Atlantic 10 Conference member played last year at Alico Arena, with the Eagles posting an 86-77 win.
Following the trip to La Salle, the Eagles will remain on the road and head to Ruston, La., to face Louisiana Tech on Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 7:30 p.m.
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