DUNK CITY, Fla. – The FGCU men's basketball team (20-9, 11-1 ASUN) nearly overcame its third deficit of 15+ points this year on Thursday night, but the shorthanded Eagles – who have already clinched the outright ASUN regular-season championship – couldn't dig themselves out of a big 2nd-half hole and were uncharacteristically poor on the defensive end in a 97-93 loss to Kennesaw State (10-17, 6-6 ASUN) at Alico Arena.
 
The loss was FGCU's first of the conference season and snapped what was the nation's 4th-longest winning streak at 13. FGCU allowed season highs in points and field-goal percentage (.540) five days after overcoming an 18-point deficit to secure the No. 1 seed in the ASUN Tournament.
 
The backcourt duo of Brandon Goodwin and Christian Terrell (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence HS) paced the Eagles offensively with respective season highs of 28 and 23 points – both two points shy of matching each of their career bests. Zach Johnson added 16 points after going scoreless in the 1st half as the Green and Blue shot a scorching 57 percent (34-60) from the floor.
 
However, the Eagles didn't get the job done at the defensive end – a rare occurrence for a team which entered the contest by holding ASUN opponents to just 64.6 points (8.8 lower than any other team) and only 38.8 percent from the floor (5.6 lower than any other team). The 97 points allowed were tied for the 3rd-most in Division-I program history in a regulation game, bested only by 102 scored by ETSU in 2008-09 and 99 tallied by Mercer in 2007-08.
 
"Our defense was horrendous, and that's my fault," stated FGCU head coach Joe Dooley. "We have to guard better than that, and we have to take pride in defending. We can't turn it on and turn it off and decide when we want to play. But you have to give Kennesaw State credit; they came out with energy, made shots and really controlled the game."
 
Through its first 11 ASUN games, FGCU had only trailed for 57 of 440 minutes – and nearly 45 of those minutes came in two contests. Against Kennesaw State, the Eagles trailed for 30:39, including the entire 2nd half save for a five-second period when the game was tied.
 
That five-second spurt came with 20 seconds remaining after FGCU had erased a 15-point 2nd-half deficit to tie the game at 92-92 on a Goodwin (Norcross, Ga./UCF/Norcross HS) dunk. However, the Eagles failed to get back on defense, and Kennesaw State's Kyle Clarke converted an easy layup at the other end five seconds later to put the Owls back in front, 94-92.
 
Storming back the other way, Johnson (Miami, Fla./Norland HS) was fouled at the rim attempting to re-tie the contest. The redshirt junior – who made all three free throws in the closing seconds earlier this year to tie a contest at Bowling Green – made the first, but missed the second with just under seven seconds remaining.
 
A few KSU free throws later, and the Owls had snapped their 15-game losing streak to FGCU, and in the process ended the Eagles' 15-game conference winning streak overall.
 
James Scott and Nick Masterson each scored 27 points to lead Kennesaw State, while Jordan Jones added 11 and seven rebounds and Tyler Hooker tallied 10 to round out the quartet of double-figure scorers.
 
Like they have been all year, the Eagles were again without their full complement of players as Christian Carlyle (ankle) and RaySean Scott Jr. (illness) both did not play. Carlyle (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny HS) is one of the team's best defenders, while Scott Jr. (Compton, Calif./Compton HS) was coming off a career-high 21-point effort in FGCU's last game.
 
After getting down early, 11-3, Kennesaw State responded and eventually built a double-digit on multiple occasions later in the 1st half. Trailing 41-31, Goodwin spearheaded an 8-0 response by the Eagles with a block on a fastbreak layup by the Owls, leading to an Antravious Simmons (Miami, Fla./VCU/South Miami HS) layup at the other end.
 
That 8-0 run got FGCU's deficit down to 41-39 in the closing seconds of the opening stanza, but the Owls concluded the half with a four-point cushion, 43-39. The 43 points were the most FGCU had allowed in a 1st half at home all year, and just six shy of what Kennesaw State scored in all 40 minutes last month as part of the Eagles' 66-49 victory.
 
FGCU – which faced a 15-point halftime deficit in its 88-71 win at USC Upstate on Saturday – didn't begin the 2nd half as well as it did in Spartanburg, and Kennesaw State eventually opened up that 15-point lead at the 12-minute mark, 63-48, before the Eagles started to make a late surge.
 
The Eagles remain at home to face 2nd-place Lipscomb (18-9, 8-4 ASUN) on Senior Night at 7 on Saturday.
 
NOTEWORTHY: Terrell grabbed a team-high eight rebounds … Simmons finished with nine points and seven rebounds … Goodwin passed out a game-high-tying four assists … FGCU out-scored KSU in the paint, 56-34 … the Eagles also had a 28-18 edge in points off turnovers.
 
SOCIAL CENTRAL
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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 five years: 2014 NIT; 2015 CIT; 2016 NCAA; 2017 NCAA; 2018 NCAA/NIT. 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 168-107 (.611), and in his 4+ years with FGCU is 112-55 (.671). 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.