DUNK CITY, Fla. – Aside from a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining, the FGCU men's basketball team (6-5) scored just two points over the final 6:50 of the game and surrendered a lead to South Dakota State (10-2) as part of a 56-52 loss for the Eagles Saturday night at Alico Arena.
 
Redshirt junior Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 rebounds as he was responsible for half of FGCU's points. The Eagles held the Jackrabbits – who received one vote in the USA Today Coaches Poll this week – to just 30.9 percent (17-55) from the floor, representing a season-best performance by FGCU.
 
Norelia hit a jumper with 6:50 remaining to give the Eagles – who trailed by nine at the half – a 47-45 lead. The next field goal for either team came more than three minutes later when SDSU's Jake Bittle converted a layup out of the media timeout to put the Jackrabbits in front, 48-47. The Jackrabitts' advantage swelled to four, 51-47, with 1:30 left before sophomore Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) finished a layup.
 
Following a stop, Terrell had a chance to tie the game at 51-51 with 40 seconds left, but his open jumper from the extended elbow was on line but just long. From there, SDSU – which entered the game with an official RPI of 54 – pushed its lead to six, 55-49, before Terrell hit the aforementioned 3-pointer and the Jackrabbits' Deondre Parks cashed in a free throw to provide the final margin.
 
"South Dakota State controlled the tempo, especially in the first half," commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "I was really disappointed in our energy, particularly because it had been so good in practice the last few days. We need to clean up the turnovers as 20 points off 18 giveaways put us behind the 8-ball. Aside from a couple defensive slips near the end, our second-half defense was really good. Our young guys again played well, but we've certainly got some things to work on."
 
Those young guys, as they have most of the season so far, provided a majority of FGCU's totals as all but five of the 52 points came from non-seniors. In addition to Norelia's fourth 20-point performance of the year, Terrell tallied nine points, but no other Green and Blue player had more than four.
 
South Dakota State entered the contest averaging 79.5 points per game, but the Eagles held the Jackrabbits to their lowest-scoring performance of the season. Additionally, FGCU held SDSU to its worst 3-point shooting outing of the year at 17.4 percent (4-23), and the 30.9-percent clip from the field was also the lowest by the Jackrabbits this campaign.
 
However, FGCU struggled from the floor itself as the Eagles connected at just a 37-percent clip (20-54), their second-lowest performance of the season. Furthermore, FGCU shot a season-worst 2-14 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range.
 
In addition to the 20 points off turnovers for SDSU, the Jackrabbits also turned 17 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points. Mike Daum – who had made only three 3-pointers all season entering the game – was responsible for all four of the Jackrabbits' makes from long range, going 4-6 from distance – tied for the most 3-pointers an FGCU opponent has made in a game this year. Parks led SDSU with 15 points as he went 7-10 from the free-throw line.
 
Both teams struggled mightily to get going in the first half as SDSU held a 23-22 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the opening stanza. The Jackrabbits finished the half on an 8-0 run to open up a 31-22 halftime lead as the Eagles scored a season-low first-half point total and shot just 26.7 percent (8-30) from the floor, including 1-10 from beyond the arc.
 
FGCU opened the second half on a 6-0 run to trim the margin to three, 31-28, following a Terrell layup. SDSU responded and re-built a seven-point lead, 38-31, at the 15-minute mark, but the Eagles eventually tied the game at 41-41 on a Norelia dunk off a fastbreak feed by redshirt freshman Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS). The Eagles then took their first lead since 6-4 on the Norelia jumper at the 6:50 mark.
 
However, over the final 6:50, FGCU went just 2-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the free-throw line and committed three turnovers. But arguably the biggest difference in the final stretch was SDSU's effort on the offensive glass as the typically reliable FGCU rebounding group – which entered the game ranked 19th in the nation in rebounds per game – allowed the Jackrabbits to grab seven offensive caroms in the final 6:30.
 
FGCU's road doesn't get any easier as the Eagles will welcome 9-2 Louisiana Tech to Alico Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs entered Saturday with an RPI of 80 and already have won at Ohio State – which earlier on Saturday defeated Kentucky. LA Tech went 27-9 last year and were considered by many an NCAA Tournament snub.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are currently on sale for all remaining home contests. For the latest ticket information, log on to FGCUAthletics.com or call the Alico Arena Ticket Office at 239-590-7145.

SOCIAL CENTRAL
For up-to-the-minute information and behind-the-scenes access to the men's basketball program, follow @FGCU_MBB on Twitter and Instagram, Like us on Facebook at /FGCUMBB and watch us on Snapchat at FGCU_MBB.
 
COACH DOOLEY 
FGCU is led by head coach Joe Dooley, who is in his third year with the Eagles in 2015-16 and coached six all-conference selections during his first two seasons. He guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT in 2014, and in 2015 he led the Eagles to their third-straight 20-win season and third-straight postseason appearance with a berth in the CIT. Prior to arriving in SWFL, Dooley spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Kansas under head coach Bill Self. During those 10 seasons, Kansas produced 300 wins, nine straight Big 12 regular-season titles, six Big 12 Tournament championships, six NCAA Sweet 16s, five NCAA Elite Eight appearances and two Final Fours, including the 2008 National Championship. Dooley is in his seventh season overall as a head coach and has a record of 107-81 (.569), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 50-29 (.633).
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE 
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.