FORT MYERS, Fla. -
Franco Miller, Jr., led the quartet of Florida Gulf Coast University double-digit scorers with 15 off the bench as the Eagles won their home opener for the 2023-24 men's basketball campaign with an 80-71 victory over Ave Maria University in front of 2,533 fans at Alico Arena.
"We knew coming in that Ave Maria was playing really well and they were going to give us a fight," said FGCU head coach
Pat Chambers. "I'm really happy with how our guys continued to compete even when things weren't going well. Our big guys ended up really doing a lot to take over the longer the game went on. We had a great crowd out there tonight that brought a lot of energy and I'm happy we were able to give them a win."
The Eagles (1-1) were able to use their size advantage as the game went on, wearing down the Gyrenes. With the game tied 71-all,
Keeshawn Kellman finished off a feed from Miller for a thunderous dunk and a foul. The senior converted a three-point play after the media timeout to give FGCU a 74-71 lead. Kellman would continue to battle down low, drawing a foul and converting both ends of the 1-and-1 with 1:29 left to push the advantage to five. Then in the final minute, with the shot clock winding down,
Cyrus Largie had the dagger blow as his layup off of Miller, Jr.'s pass gave FGCU an insurmountable lead, 78-71.
Kellman finished with 14 points, with Largie and
Zach Anderson each netting 10.
Andre Weir had a game-high eight rebounds to go with nine points. In his first action of the season,
Isaiah Thompson had five points and a pair of assists.
The Eagles led 43-41 at the half, but the Gyrenes would build a lead as high as seven at 58-51 with just over 14 minutes to go. The Eagles would flip the script out of a timeout. A 13-0 run over the next four minutes that featured six points from
Cyrus Largie helped FGCU take a 64-58 lead. Ave Maria would rally back to tie the score on a pair of occasions, but the late 9-0 run would doom the Gyrenes, who shot 15-of-50 from 3-point territory.
The game was considered an exhibition for Ave Maria. The Gyrenes entered at 5-0 against NAIA competition.
FGCU returns to action Monday night in Pittsburgh, Pa., as the Eagles take on the University of Pittsburgh. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. on the ACC Network.
Â
