Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com
JACKSONVILLE – For the third time this year, FGCU guard Brandon Goodwin hit a game-winning shot on the road for the Eagles (16-6, 5-1 ASUN), with his latest heroic moment coming in the closing seconds of FGCU’s 86-82 triumph at North Florida (9-14, 4-2 ASUN) Wednesday night in a 1st-place showdown.
Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) hit a baseline 3-pointer in front of the UNF student section with 34 seconds left to break an 80-80 tie, and then made the game-sealing steal on the Ospreys’ ensuing possession. The victory moved FGCU alone atop the ASUN standings, one game clear of UNF, USC Upstate and Lipscomb.
Making his return to Jacksonville, Providence High School product Christian Terrell led the Eagles with 17 points, while Goodwin netted 16. Redshirt senior forwards Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) and Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) both tallied 12 points, while Norelia grabbed eight rebounds and Morant secured six.
A whistle-filled affair which featured 50 fouls grounded both teams’ high-flying attacks, but an explosive closing stretch provided plenty of excitement. Starting with a pair of Goodwin free throws at the 4:19 mark to tie the contest at 74-74, the top-two preseason league favorites played with a different tie score four times in the final four minutes.
The final tie came at the 1:55 mark when Morant athletically secured a crucial offensive rebound and putback to knot the contest at 80-80. Both teams had chances in the final minutes, but neither was able to capitalize until Goodwin’s 3-pointer.
Facing a zone defense all night, Goodwin – who was saddled with foul trouble himself – made just one 3-pointer, but it was the one which made the difference. The play started with Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) drawing two defenders at the wing with a dribble drive, and once the duo collapsed he pitched the ball to a wide open Goodwin.
On the ensuing possession, UNF – which ranks 28th in the nation in 3-pointers made – got an open look, but the Eagles did a good job ensuring it didn’t come from one of the Ospreys better long-range threats. However, UNF secured the offensive rebound and reset its offense.
That offense runs through Dallas Moore – who came into the game as the nation’s 3rd-leading scorer and finished the night with 32 points. The senior guard would receive a high ball screen at the top of the arc most possessions on Wednesday, and the Eagles would double-team it, forcing the ball out of Moore’s hands. That’s exactly what they did again in the closing seconds, and as Moore tried to pass out of the double team, Goodwin jumped the route, made the steal and converted a layup with 3 seconds left to ice FGCU’s 7th road win of the campaign.
“It was a terrific college basketball game,” commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. Every time we tried to make a run, they would have an answer, and then we would have a run of our own. Both teams made plays when they needed to make them, and thankfully for us we made those plays when they mattered most.”
A battle of two teams which have been responsible for (or shared) either the ASUN regular-season championship or ASUN tournament championship every year since 2012-13 is expected to be a close contest, and that’s exactly what transpired on Wednesday. The lead changed hands 16 times, and the game was tied on 16 occasions. Neither team led by more than seven points. FGCU led for 16:43, UNF led for 13:59 and the game was tied for 9:18.
Over their past five meetings since 2014-15, FGCU has out-scored UNF in the paint by an average of 48.7 to 18.7 per game, and the Eagles again took advantage down low, finishing with a 46-37 edge in paint points. In those same five meetings, UNF has averaged 10.4 made 3-pointers per game compared with just 4.2 for FGCU. The Eagles kept that in check Wednesday, limiting the Ospreys to just 6-20 (30 percent) from beyond the arc.
The biggest difference for the Green and Blue came in protecting the ball. FGCU committed a season-low eight turnovers, and finished with a 21-11 edge in points off turnovers as the Ospreys gave the ball away 16 times on their home court.
In addition to Moore’s 8th 30-point game of the year – including three of the last four (29 points in the other game) – the Ospreys received 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench from Chris Davenport. Garrett Sams finished with 11 points, while Wajid Aminu added nine points and 11 rebounds.
Both teams attempted at least 30 free throws, with FGCU converting at a 70-percent clip (21-30) and UNF at a 72-percent rate (26-36). The Eagles used a 50-percent performance from the floor in the 2nd half to finish 30-63 (48 percent) from the field for the country’s 3rd-best shooting team.
Goodwin’s first game-winner this year came on Dec. 20 at Louisiana Tech when he hit a one-handed floater in the lane with 12 seconds left. His second game-winner came at the free-throw line as he knocked down all three attempts with .6 of a second remaining at Stetson on Jan. 7. It’s the 4th game-winning shot for the Eagles this year, with the other coming on a Terrell layup with 2.4 seconds showing in overtime versus Long Beach State on Nov. 25.
The Eagles are now 7-3 on the road this year and a perfect 4-0 in ASUN action. FGCU extends its dominant record when reaching at least 80 points under Dooley to 35-4, and the Eagles are now 10-1 when they reach that mark this year.
FGCU’s 5-1 ASUN record is tied for its best all-time start through six games of a league season (2013-14, 2014-15). The Eagles will now play four of their next five games inside the friendly confines of Alico Arena, where they are 30-4 in the regular season against ASUN opponents since the start of the 2012-13 season.
Up first in that stretch is a contest with Jacksonville (13-10, 2-4 ASUN) on Saturday at 7 p.m. The contest will be the backend of a doubleheader with the FGCU women’s team in an ASUN title game rematch with the Dolphins at 4 p.m.
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