DUNK CITY, Fla. – Marc-Eddy Norelia scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the first half, Zach Johnson tallied 13 of his 17 points in the second half and the FGCU men's basketball team (8-7) overcome a slow start and finish to claim a 68-57 win over 10th-ranked Division-II Eckerd (12-1) Thursday afternoon at Alico Arena.
 
FGCU trailed by as much as eight, 24-16, after getting down 9-2 out of the gate, but turned things around and went into the halftime locker room with a 34-33 lead. The Eagles started the second half on an extended 22-5 run in the first 10 minutes and went on to lead by as much as 19 before Eckerd closed the contest on an 8-0 run in the final 1:17 against FGCU walk-ons and seldom-used reserves.
 
Redshirt junior Norelia (Orlando, Fla./Tulane/Olympia HS) shot 8-9 from the floor as he also collected a game-high-tying six rebounds en route to leading the Eagles in scoring for the sixth time this year. Redshirt freshman Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) was also efficient from the floor, going 6-8 from the field and 4-5 from the free-throw line as he tallied his second-highest scoring output this season behind only the 26 he had versus Bowling Green on Nov. 23.
 
After allowing Eckerd – which played the game as an exhibition contest and entered on a 12-game winning streak – to shoot 42.9 percent (15-35) in the first half, FGCU limited the Tritons to 31 percent (9-29) in the second half. That total was just 6-26 (23.1 percent) before the final 77 seconds in which the Eagles turned the ball over four times, leading to seven of the eight Eckerd points.
 
Conversely, FGCU shot 45 percent (9-20) in the first half from the floor and went 14-27 (51.9 percent) in the second half. One of the biggest differences came at the free-throw line as the Eagles were aggressive throughout and went 17-23 (73.9 percent) from the charity stripe – including a run of 14 in a row after missing three of their first four – while Eckerd went just 4-10 from the line.
 
"Eckerd did a good job in the first half of getting some bursts, which was disappointing because we had talked about preparing every game as if it's the same and we didn't start the game that way," commented FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "The spurt in the second half was good. Zach really did some good things and Marc-Eddy got us off to a good start. With the exception of a couple moments, we played much better in the second half."
 
FGCU was playing without 6-9 redshirt junior Demetris Morant (Miami, Fla./UNLV/Bishop Gorman) – who had started eight games this year and ranked second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per contest – as he rested a sore leg. Without the lengthy forward's body down low, Eckerd actually out-rebounded FGCU in the first half, 19-15, and had a 9-0 edge in second-chance points, but the Eagles changed that in the second stanza by holding a 23-16 advantage on the glass and 12-6 lead in second-chance points.
 
The Eagles held Eckerd leading scorer Jerrick Stevenson without a point as he entered averaged 13.4 points per game but went 0-8 from the floor in 20 minutes. Kendall Roberts paced the Tritons with 18 points on 8-9 from the field – the lone double-figure scorer for the Sunshine State Conference member.
 
The Green and Blue's balanced offensive attack was on display again against Eckerd as while Norelia and Johnson led the way, six other players scored between four and six points for the Eagles, who ended up shooting 48.9 percent (23-47) from the floor for the game.
 
The victory was the 50th home triumph (50-10) for FGCU since the start of the 2012-13 season. The Eagles are 7-3 at home this year, were 13-4 last year, went 15-2 in 2013-14 and 15-1 in 2012-13.
 
FGCU now has one final non-conference tuneup before Atlantic Sun Conference action gets underway next Saturday, Jan. 9, at home versus Stetson. As most conferences around the country enter league play with the turn of the calendar to 2016, FGCU will face one more non-D-I opponent to conclude the non-league docket as the Eagles welcome NAIA member Webber International (7-8) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5. The Warriors lost to Stetson Saturday afternoon, 103-53.
 
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 109-83 (.568), and in his 2+ years with FGCU is 52-31 (.627).
 
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.