MIAMI – Trailing by 13 midway through the second half, the FGCU men's basketball team (5-4) turned up the pressure, forced overtime and then dominated the extra session to claim an important 84-76 win over cross-state foe FIU (4-5) Sunday afternoon.
 
Christian Terrell led FGCU in scoring for the fourth-straight game as the sophomore tallied a game-high 20 – 17 of which came in the second half and overtime. Marc-Eddy Norelia secured his fourth double-double of the campaign with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Zach Johnson added 12 points, Demetris Morant netted 11, Julian DeBose had 10 and Rayjon Tucker (Charlotte, N.C./Northside Christian Academy) just missed being the sixth double-figure scorer for the Eagles with nine.
 
Facing a 60-47 deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, FGCU got a layup from DeBose (Washington, D.C./Rice/St. John College HS) and then went into a trapping full-court press. The pressure completely derailed the Panthers as the Eagles forced four turnovers in less than a minute and scored off each one of them – first a Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) layup, then a DeBose layup, then a Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) 3-pointer and capped by a Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman HS) and-1 finish.
 
It didn't come off an FIU turnover, but a Terrell layup shortly later capped a furious 14-0 FGCU run in less than three minutes to take a 61-60 lead at the 7:40 mark. However, it all appeared to be wasted as FIU held a four-point lead, 71-67, with less than 90 seconds remaining and then a 71-69 advantage with fewer than 15 seconds left.
 
Following a sequence in which DeBose had the potential game-tying shot blocked and Terrell tracked down the rebound and threw the ball of an FIU defender to preserve the possession, FGCU head coach Joe Dooley used his final timeout with 12.8 seconds showing. The third-year coach drew up a clinical in-bounds play as Dunk City tied the contest with a perfectly-executed alley-oop from Johnson to Morant to force overtime.
 
In overtime, FGCU scored the first 10 points and held FIU without a point until the final 10 seconds on a put-back dunk and 3-pointer. The Eagles – who allowed FIU to shoot better than 53 percent from the floor in the first and second halves – held the Panthers to just 22.2 percent (2-9) in the extra session to earn a crucial win heading into a week break for final exams.
 
"We were able to pick up the tempo and the young guys did a really good job," commented Dooley, whose team had 71 of its points come from non-seniors. "Marc-Eddy and Christian, especially, got us back in the game in the second half by making some good, timely shots. We were able to turn FIU over a lot and we had 18 assists against just nine turnovers and that's much more of what we need."
 
FGCU shot a season-best 57.1 percent (8-14) from the 3-point line, led by a 4-6 performance from beyond the arc by Terrell, who has now recorded three 20-point games this year after just one as a freshman. The southpaw has already scored 128 points this year – 18 more than his entire 2014-15 output when he was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman Team.
 
Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) posted his first double-double since recording three in a row Nov. 16-22. Johnson and fellow freshman Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga./Harlem HS) led the Eagles with six assists each – Reid doing so in just 13 minutes of action as he only had one turnover.
 
One game after tying for the most turnovers in Dooley's tenure with FGCU (21 at No. 18 Texas A&M), the Eagles recorded their third single-digit turnover outing of the season with nine. The Green and Blue outscored the Panthers in points off turnovers, 15-10, and held a 16-8 edge in second-chance points as the Eagles out-rebounded FIU, 40-37.
 
Kansas State transfer Adrian Diaz led a quartet of double-figure point scorers for FIU with 19 as the nation's leading shot blocker also had seven rejections and nine rebounds. Jason Boswell and Donte McGill each had 13 points and Daviyon Draper added 10 for the Panthers, who have now lost three straight.
 
Playing in front of huge group of friends and family, Miami natives Johnson, Morant and Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) combined to score 28 points, grab 15 rebounds and issue nine assists as the Eagles stopped a two-game losing streak to FIU.
 
FGCU will now have a week off for final exams before returning to the court at Alico Arena next Sunday, Dec. 13, against Massachusetts at 1:30 p.m. The Atlantic 10 Conference member is 5-2 on the year. The Minutemen – who have a top-50 RPI – will travel to UCF on Tuesday, Dec. 8, before facing the Eagles.
 
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 106-80 (.570), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 49-28 (.636).

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.