DUNK CITY, Fla. – Despite a quartet of double-figure scorers led by 18 from redshirt junior Julian DeBose, the FGCU men's basketball team (22-11) had its season come to a close at the hands of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (20-13) in the opening round of the CIT (CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament) Wednesday night at Alico Arena, 75-69.
 
DeBose (Washington, D.C./St. John College HS/Rice) finished two points shy of matching his career high as the guard shot 7-13 from the floor while also pulling down four rebounds and dishing out three assists in 35 minutes. Playing his final game at The Nest, Bernard Thompson (Conyers, Ga./Rockdale County HS) finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while fellow classmate and backcourt mate Brett Comer (Winter Park, Fla./Winter Park HS) tallied 11 points and issued seven assists. Redshirt sophomore Marc-Eddy Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Olympia HS/Tulane) capped the quartet of double-figure scorers with 12 points on an efficient 6-9 from the floor and a team-best seven rebounds.
 
Playing in its second-straight CIT, A&M-Corpus Christi hit nine of its first 11 shots and eventually built a 13-point lead, 25-12, midway through the first half. However, helped in large part by a pair of freshmen – redshirt freshman Logan Hovey (Orlando, Fla./Paul J. Hagerty HS) and true freshman Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) – the Eagles closed the first half strong and trailed by only three at the break, 37-34.
 
The teams traded buckets to commence the second half, but a quick 6-0 spurt from the Islanders midway through the stanza turned a five-point lead into 11, 56-45, and from there the Eagles – one of three Atlantic Sun Conference teams playing in the postseason – could get no closer than six the rest of the way. The comeback attempt was severely hampered by going just 5-17 (29.4 percent) from the free-throw line, while the Islanders held on due in part to a 13-15 (86.7 percent) performance from the charity stripe.
 
"When you look at shooting percentages for them and for us, that was a big deal," surmised FGCU head coach Joe Dooley of the Islanders going 52 percent (27-52) from the floor and 44 percent from 3 compared with 46 percent (28-61) and 33 percent (8-24) from 3 for the Eagles. "They got off to a fast start and we didn't offer much resistance. Once they got on a roll we never really got it corralled. We needed to get timely stops and make timely shots and we didn't get them, so give credit to Corpus Christi."
 
The Islanders were led by John Jordan who netted 20 points while issuing seven assists. Bryce Douvier scored A&M-Corpus Christi's first seven points en route to a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Jelani Currie (12) and Rashawn Thomas (10) rounded out the Islanders' four double-figure scorers.
 
Terrell came off the bench, and while the southpaw did not score he issued a career-high five assists against no turnovers in addition to grabbing four rebounds in 15 minutes. Hovey, who had played in just one game since Feb. 1, logged 13 minutes off the bench and turned in a career-best performance of six points on 2-2 from the floor and line to go along with three rebounds.
 
The Eagles out-scored the Islanders in the paint, 38-22, marking the first time since the 2011-12 season that they have lost a game when finishing at least +15 in the key (now 29-1 over that stretch). FGCU was without the services of their leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, Jamail Jones (Atlanta, Ga./Montverde Academy/Marquette), as it was announced prior to the game that the redshirt senior would need to undergo season-ending right-ankle surgery.
 
Thompson and Comer cap their illustrious careers in the Green and Blue having led the program to three-straight 20-win seasons and three-straight postseason appearances in the NCAA Tournament, NIT and CIT. Thompson finishes his tenure as the only player in the nation with at least 1,800 points (1,835), 600 rebounds (623) and 250 steals (262). Comer, meanwhile, will graduate ranking 23rd on the all-time NCAA career assist list with 845, and is one of only a handful of players in Division-I history to have scored 1,400 career points, issued 840 career assists and grabbed 450 career rebounds.
 
GAME NOTES: FGCU was also without Eric Moeller as the 6-11 forward was suffering from concussion-like symptoms … the score was never tied (aside from 0-0) and the lead changed hands eight times … the Eagles shot 8-24 (33.3 percent) from the 3-point line … FGCU committed just eight turnovers, marking the 14th single-digit turnover game in the last two years for the Eagles after posting only 10 such games in program history prior to that.
 
SOCIAL CENTRAL
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COACH DOOLEY 
FGCU is led by second-year head coach Joe Dooley, who coached three all-conference selections during his first season and guided FGCU to its first Atlantic Sun Conference Regular-Season Championship and first trip to the NIT. 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. In his six seasons as a head coach, Dooley has posted a 101-76 overall record, while in his two years with FGCU he has a 44-24 mark.
 
IT'S AWESOME, BABY
Dick Vitale held a book signing in the Alico Arena Auxiliary Gym on Feb. 25, but it's not too late for fans to still purchase autographed copies of his latest book: "It's Awesome Baby! 75 Years of Memories and a Lifetime of Opinions on the Game I Love" by clicking here or by calling 239-590-7060. All proceeds from the book will be donated to The V Foundation for children battling pediatric cancer.
 
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 visitwww.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.