MIAMI – The men's basketball team lost for the fourth time in five games on Tuesday night as the Eagles (7-6) dropped a 91-88 decision at FIU (6-6) inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
Brandon Goodwin led FGCU in scoring for the eighth time this year with 24 points – his fifth-straight 20+ performance. The redshirt senior flirted with a triple-double as he finished with a game-high-tying nine rebounds and game-best eight assists.
 
He led a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Green and Blue as Christian Terrell netted 18, and Miami natives Zach Johnson and Antravious Simmons each tallied 12 in starting roles.
 
FGCU had an 11-point lead in the 2nd half, but once again turnovers proved costly as FIU converted 19 Eagles' giveaways into 23 points (+13 advantage) to overcome the deficit. Entering this season, FGCU had surrendered a double-figure lead and lost the game just four times in four seasons under head coach Joe Dooley, but Tuesday marked the fourth time this year alone that has happened to the Eagles.
 
The visitors nearly crawled all the way back to erase what was an eight-point FIU lead with only 16 seconds remaining. The Panthers held a 90-82 lead, but Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) hit a 3-pointer with 11 ticks showing, and after one FIU free throw, Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) knocked down a 3 with 5 seconds left to make it a one-possession game.
 
Trejon Jacob missed both free throw attempts with 2 seconds remaining, and Goodwin was fouled 70 feet from the basket with just over a second left. He missed the first, and then intentionally missed the second. The ball careened perfectly to Brady Ernst (Iowa/Indian Hills CC/Iowa State/Clinton HS), who back-tipped it to the 3-point line for Dinero Mercurius (Orlando, Fla./Daytona State/UTRGV/USF/Faith Baptist Christian HS) – who got a potential game-tying shot off, but it came up just short as the buzzer sounded.
 
The Eagles – who allowed their seventh opponent of the year to score 80 or more points, including all four losses in the current 1-4 stretch – couldn't stop Jacob as the sophomore scored a career-high 38 points – just five shy of the highest-scoring performance in the nation this year.
 
"Our defense was terrible again, and our ability to take care of the ball is non-existent right now," surmised Dooley, whose team gave the ball away 15 or more times for the third-straight game. "We need to find our identity, because right now we don't have one. It's inexcusable to give up more than one double-figure lead in an entire season, and we've done it four times now."
 
Entering this season, the Eagles had lost four games in four years under Dooley when leading at the half, but they have now dropped three such contests this year alone (at Bowling Green, vs. FAU) after holding a 43-40 advantage at the break Tuesday over FIU.
 
Both teams shot blistering percentages from the floor in the opening half as the Eagles connected at a 61-percent clip (14-23), while the Panthers finished at 54 percent (14-26). After trailing by as much as six early on, FGCU went into the halftime break with the aforementioned lead after the two sides were tied on seven occasions and the lead changed hands six times in the opening 20 minutes.
 
FGCU began the 2nd half with a pair of quick buckets as Goodwin found Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) at the rim for a layup, and then on the next possession pushed ahead to Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) on the wing for a 3-pointer. The quick 5-0 spurt extended the Eagles' lead to eight, and it eventually grew to double digits, 52-42, after a pair of Johnson free throws.
 
However, the Panthers would erase that deficit over the next few minutes, and behind a 12-0 run took a 62-58 lead before Terrell finally stopped the bleeding with a 3-pointer at the 11-minute mark. But FIU re-grew the lead to nine in the closing minutes, and FGCU couldn't complete the comeback.
 
The Eagles shot just 39.5 percent (15-38) from the floor in the 2nd half and finished at 47.5 percent for the game (29-61). Meanwhile, FIU connected at a torrid 52-percent rate for the game (27-52).
 
In addition to Jacob's career night, Brian Beard Jr. tallied 24 points, while Eric Lockett netted 11 to round out the trio of FIU double-figure scorers.
 
The road for FGCU doesn't get any easier as the Eagles will face another stalwart opponent in its non-conference schedule when they head to Kansas to face #11 Wichita State (9-2) on Friday, Dec. 22, at 7 p.m. Eastern. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network.
 
NOTEWORTHY: FGCU was without Christian Carlyle (7.2 ppg) due to a concussion for the second-straight game … the Eagles used their ninth different starting lineup in 13 games this year – the 2nd-most in the nation … FGCU matched a season high by making 11 3-pointers … after not making double-figure 3-pointers through the first 10 games of the year, FGCU has reached that mark in each of the last three contests.
 
TOYS FOR TOTS
The FGCU Athletics Department, FGCU Police Department, Lee County Sheriff's Office and Heroes Unlimited have teamed up to participate in a holiday toy drive. New, unwrapped toys are being collected, and will be delivered to the Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida on Friday, Dec. 23. Collection boxes have been placed in the lobbies of Alico Arena, UPD and the FGCU Family Resource Center until Wednesday, Dec. 20. No toy is too small, and all toys will be wrapped prior to delivery.
 
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 5th season with the Eagles in 2017-18 and has coached eight all-conference selections in that time. He has led FGCU to 20+ win seasons and postseason appearances in all four years: 2014 NIT; 2015 CIT; 2016 NCAA; 2017 NCAA. Dooley was named the 2017 ASUN Coach of the Year and the 2017 NABC District 3 Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to a D-I program record 26 wins. In 8+ seasons overall as a head coach, Dooley has a record of 155-104 (.598), and in his 4+ years with FGCU is 98-52 (.653). 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.
 
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.