SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the third time this year, the FGCU men's basketball team (6-7) overcame a double-digit second-half deficit to force overtime, but for the first time it failed to convert it into a win as the Eagles dropped an 89-81 decision to South Dakota (8-6) Monday night at the Sanford Pentagon.
 
Sophomore Christian Terrell scored a career-high 25 points to lead FGCU, while redshirt junior Marc-Eddy Norelia recorded his sixth double-double of the campaign with 20 points and a game-best 12 rebounds. Redshirt senior Julian DeBose tallied 12 point as well for FGCU, which was competing against its third-straight top-110 RPI opponent.
 
Trailing 47-33 with 13 minutes remaining, FGCU turned to its full-court pressure and immediately started turning the Coyotes over. The Eagles utilized an extended 20-5 run over five minutes to take the lead, 53-52, on a pair of Rayjon Tucker (Charlotte, N.C./Northside Christian Academy) free throws with 8 minutes left.
 
USD held a 68-66 lead with 1:30 remaining, but DeBose (Washington, D.C./Rice/St. John College HS) stepped up and delivered a huge baseline 3-pointer to put the Eagles in front. On the next trip, Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) knocked down an elbow jumper and FGCU had a 71-68 advantage. However, USD's Tre Burnette converted an and-1 finish with 33 seconds left, and the Coyotes defense stood firm to give them one more chance to win it in regulation, but a long 3-point effort fell short.
 
In overtime, FGCU never led and trailed by as much as five with a minute to play before DeBose hit another 3-pointer to make it a two-point margin, 83-81, with 50 seconds left. After an FGCU timeout, D.J. Davis knocked down a short jumper in the paint with 20 seconds to play. The Eagles turned the ball over twice in the waning seconds trying to push the tempo, and the Coyotes converted both into buckets to score six points in the closing 20 seconds and provide the winning margin.
 
"The end of all three periods cost us the game," surmised FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "We were awful in the first half turning the ball over, and at the end of the second half we said no three-point plays, and we gave up a three-point play. And then in overtime we have it at a one-possession game and can't convert on defense and then turn the ball over."
 
FGCU entered the game with the nation's top-ranked 3-point defense, allowing opponents to connect at just a 23.7-percent clip. However, USD's Casey Kasperbauer started the game 5-7 from beyond the arc in the opening 10 minutes en route to a career-high 31 points on 7-14 from deep. The 31 points are by far the most any opponent has posted against the Eagles this year, and the seven triples are three more than anyone else has made on FGCU.
 
The Eagles committed a season-high-tying 21 turnovers which USD turned into 22 points, but they were able to fight their way back in the second half after a season-low-tying 22 points in the first half and a season-high 13-point halftime deficit, 35-22.
 
To start the extended 20-5 run midway through the second half, Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) was responsible for all six points in a 6-0 FGCU spurt in 30 seconds to trim the margin to single digits, 47-39. South Dakota pushed its lead back to double figures on the next possession, but Terrell again had an answer which spearheaded another 6-0 run and cut the Green and Blue's deficit to 49-45 with a little more than 10 minutes remaining.
 
USD got its lead back to four, 57-53, after the Eagles went ahead, and held a 61-59 edge with under 4 minutes to play when Terrell knocked down a 3-pointer, stole the inbounds pass and hit a baseline floater seven seconds later to put the Eagles in front, 64-61, with 3:30 showing. The teams then went back-and-forth until DeBose's aforementioned 3-pointer and subsequent closing stretch.
 
The contest represented FGCU's sixth-straight game decided by 10 points or less as that has now occurred nine times through the first 13 games of the season. It was also FGCU's third-consecutive top-110 RPI opponent as the Eagles – who receive a majority of their production from non-seniors – have dropped those three contests by a total of 15 points to RPI 44 South Dakota State (56-52), RPI 47 Louisiana Tech (66-63) and RPI 109 South Dakota. Entering Monday, only Dayton (6), Wichita State (5) and Kennesaw State (5) had played more top-50 RPI opponents so far this year than FGCU (4).
 
After shooting just 26.9 percent (7-26) from the floor in the first half, FGCU connected at a 53.1-percent clip in the second half (17-32) and finished at 41.5 percent (27-65) for the game, compared with 43.7 percent (31-71) for USD. The Eagles struggled from the free-throw line, however, going just 21-36 (58.3 percent) compared with 19-25 (76 percent) for the Coyotes, who were out-rebounded by FGCU, 49-39. Despite Kasperbauer's exploits, USD as a team finished 8-22 (36.4 percent) from the 3-point line.
 
Terrell continued his torrid sophomore campaign as the southpaw went 8-19 from the floor and 7-9 from the free-throw line while also adding seven rebounds and two assists, surpassing his previous best of 24 points earlier this year opposite NAIA foe Ave Maria. He also recorded a career-best five steals in 38 minutes of action. After averaging just 3.3 points per game last year, Terrell has catapulted to 14.8 per game this year – an increase of 11.5 – and has led the Eagles in scoring a team-best six times.
 
Norelia, meanwhile, recorded his fifth 20-point outing of the season as he moved within one double-double of matching the Division-I program single-season record of seven held by Chase Fieler in 2013-14. Three of Norelia's 20-point outings have come in the past four games, as he also set a career high with five blocked shots - half of FGCU's season-high total of 10.
 
Freshman Zach Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) came off the bench to add eight points for FGCU, while fellow first-year point guard Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) contributed seven points and a team-high three assists. Redshirt junior Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) grabbed eight rebounds for the Eagles – all of which came in the first half as he logged only three minutes in the second half and overtime.
 
The Eagles – who have now dropped three games in a row – had previously overcome a 15-point second-half deficit versus Youngstown State to win in triple overtime, 104-101, and a 13-point second-half deficit at FIU to win in overtime, 84-76.
 
The game was played about one hour from USD's campus in Vermillion as it marked the second time in as many years that FGCU visited the Sanford Pentagon. The 160,000-square-foot, five-sided facility features nine basketball courts, including the 1950s/1960s-inspired Heritage Court where the Eagles and Coyotes met. Last year on the same floor against South Dakota State, FGCU started the second half on a 10-0 run en route to a 71-58 victory over the Jackrabbits.
 
FGCU will return to action at Alico Arena for a New Year's Eve Day matinee affair with La Salle on Thursday, Dec. 31, at 1:30 p.m. The matchup will feature a pair of Sweet 16 teams from 2013 as the Explorers advanced there as a 13 seed the same season the Eagles became the only 15 seed to reach the round. The Atlantic 10 Conference member is 4-5 on the year, but its last two opponents have been top-15 ranked foes in Villanova and Miami.
 
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
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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 107-83 (.563), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 50-31 (.617).
 
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.