Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com
DUNK CITY, Fla. – Playing its final game before a brief Christmas break, the FGCU men’s basketball team (9-5) cruised to a 107-50 win Thursday night over Florida National (6-11) at Alico Arena.
The Eagles shot 66.7 percent (44-66) from the floor – the 2nd-highest percentage in the program’s single-game Division-I history – and the 107 points were the 3rd-most in D-I program history and 2nd-most in a regulation contest.
Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) recorded his second-consecutive double-double and fifth of his career with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Twelve of the points and 10 of the rebounds came in the 1st half as Morant had just as many caroms in the opening 20 minutes as Florida National’s entire team.
Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) led a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Eagles as he tied a career high with 18 points set earlier this year at then-#13 Michigan State. He was followed closely by sophomore Rayjon Tucker (Charlotte, N.C./Northside Christian Academy) with 17 points on a perfect 6-6 from the floor and 4-4 from the free-throw line.
Brandon Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) reached double-figure points for the 13th time in 14 tries this year with 12 points and also added six assists and three steals, and Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) finished with nine points and four assists. Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) came off the bench to score seven points and passed out a career-high-tying nine assists against only one turnover, in addition to recording three steals.
Dunk City put on a show with a season-high 11 slams as they out-scored Florida National in the paint, 68-12. The 68 points in the paint matched a D-I program single-game record set earlier this year against Ave Maria.
All of FGCU’s 13 players who were dressed appeared in the contest, including walk-on Rendijs Feikners (Riga, Latvia/Tallwood HS/Elevation Prep) who played 12 minutes and finished with eight points. Fellow walk-ons Maxx Bleecher (Boca Raton, Fla./West Boca HS), Joshua Ko (Kailua, H.I./Pittsburgh/Kalaheo HS) and Dolan Mahoney (Bradenton, Fla./IMG Academy) also scored, and everyone who played for the Green and Blue totaled at least two points.
“We were efficient for the most part, and our starters got us off to a good start,” commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. “It was great to be able to play some of the guys who have been working hard in practice. It allowed us to work on some different things and was a pretty good way to head into Christmas.”
FGCU entered the game ranked 9th in the nation with a field goal percentage of 50.8 and increased that as the Eagles connected on exactly 22 of 33 attempts in both the 1st and 2nd halves.
Leading 9-6 early in the contest, the Eagles went on a 12-0 run to open up a 21-6 lead. From there, FGCU never led by fewer than 13, held a 34-point halftime edge, 56-22, and eclipsed the century mark for the second time this year. The 57-point margin of victory is tied for the 3rd-largest in program history (60 earlier this year versus Ave Maria; 79 against Florida Christian College in 2002-03).
The Conquistadors – who were held to just 28.3 percent (17-60) from the floor – were led by 14 points from Antonio Sims. FGCU finished the game – which was the 100th win for the Eagles since 2012-13 – with a 49-21 rebounding edge and passed out 30 assists, tied for the most in program history and the most in the D-I era.
FGCU was again without Marc Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) as the ASUN Preseason Team selection missed a third-straight game due to personal reasons. The Eagles were also without RaySean Scott Jr. (Compton, Calif./Compton HS) as the freshman sat out after turning his left ankle in FGCU’s win at Louisiana Tech Tuesday.
Florida National – based in Hialeah just outside Miami – is a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association. It was the second non-NCAA member that FGCU has played this year, and the game does not affect FGCU’s RPI, but all other statistics count.
FGCU will have a few days off before returning to action Wednesday, Dec. 28, at cross-state foe FAU (4-6) at 7 p.m. Despite its record being below .500, FAU has arguably the biggest upset in college basketball this year as the Owls went to Columbus and knocked off Ohio State (now 9-3) earlier this month in overtime, 79-77.
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