Courtesy of FGCUAthletics.com
DUNK CITY, Fla. – The FGCU men’s basketball team (5-2) never trailed and dominated St. Francis Brooklyn (1-5) Sunday night, 75-51, as the Eagles posted their third win in as many days to wrap up the Homewood Suites FGCU Shootout at Alico Arena.
Christian Terrell led all scorers with 20 points, while Antravious Simmons tallied a season-best 15 points on 7-9 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Ricky Doyle (Cape Coral, Fla./Michigan/Bishop Verot HS) rounded out a trio of double-figure scorers for the Eagles with 10 in just 18 minutes, going 5-7 from the floor.
After shooting a season-high 53 percent from the field in their win over Navy on Saturday, the Eagles connected at a 47.5-percent clip (29-61) on Sunday while limiting St. Francis Brooklyn to just 36.5 percent (19-52). The Terriers had no answer for the taller Eagles on the glass as FGCU finished with a 43-26 rebounding advantage.
After leading the nation in points in the paint last year, FGCU has started off this season exactly where it left off 2016-17, out-scoring its seventh-straight opponent to commence the year in the painted area as the Eagles held a dominant 48-24 edge over the Northeast Conference member.
“It was sort of a methodical, grind-it-out game,” commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. “It was the third game in three days for both teams, and I think that showed a little bit. But overall it was a good performance, and I think we got better this weekend. We’ve got some things to tighten up over the coming week, but it was good to get back on track.”
FGCU received a game-opening fastbreak layup from Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) 56 seconds into the game and never trailed. The Eagles created a double-digit lead, 17-6, midway through the 1st half following a personal 5-0 run by Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS), and that advantage swelled to 17 at the half, 35-18.
The Eagles entered the contest with a record of 72-5 when leading at the half under Dooley, and that mark grew to an incredible 73-5 as the Green and Blue were never threatened in the closing 20 minutes.
With his 15 points, Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) became the eighth-different FGCU player this year to reach double-figure points in a game as the Eagles once again put their depth on display. Leading scorer Brandon Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) finished with just five points – tied for his fewest with FGCU (Nov. 23, 2016 versus Binghamton) – but it didn’t faze the Eagles at all.
Contributing to the +17 edge on the backboard for the Eagles was RaySean Scott Jr. grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with seven points. Sophomore Scott Jr. (Compton, Calif./Compton HS) had a then-career-high eight boards on Friday before reaching the double-figure mark for the first time on Sunday.
After allowing just 54 points on Saturday versus Navy, the Eagles backed it up on Sunday by surrendering a season-low 51 (previous: 53 at Siena). Rasheem Dunn was the lone St. Francis Brooklyn player to reach double-figure points as he netted 10. After shooting 26.9 percent (0-11 from 3-point range) in the 1st half, the Terriers finished the game at 36.5 percent from the floor (19-52). By shooting just 19 percent (4-21) from beyond the arc, it marked the second-straight opponent the Eagles have held below 20 percent from 3-point range (Navy: 11 percent, 2-18).
FGCU – which entered the game ranked #13 in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Poll – extended its record to an impressive 79-14 (.849) at Alico Arena since the start of the 2012-13 season.
The Eagles will wrap up their portion of the Homewood Suites FGCU Shootout on Wednesdaywhen they welcome Webber International to Alico Arena for a regional-site game at 7 p.m. The NAIA member is 3-2 on the year, but has dropped relatively close games already this season to ASUN institutions Stetson (98-89) and Jacksonville (88-70).
HOMEWOOD SUITES FGCU SHOOTOUT ALL-CLASSIC TEAM
Christian Terrell, FGCU (MVP)
Zach Johnson, FGCU
Daniel Amigo, Denver
Bryce Dulin, Navy
Rasheem Dunn, St. Francis Brooklyn
NOTEWORTHY: FGCU was again without 6-9 freshman Brian Thomas (Kennesaw, Ga./Kell HS) for the fourth-straight game with a fractured left hand, while leading 3-point shooter Dinero Mercurius (Orlando, Fla./Daytona State/UTRGV/USF/Faith Baptist Christian HS) did not play again after injuring his shoulder in Friday’s game … it was the first all-time meeting between the two teams … freshman Darnell Rogers (Baltimore, Md./Shiloh HS/Believe Prep/Indian Land HS) scored his first collegiate basket … Johnson finished with eight points, four rebounds and three steals.
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