An off-balance jumper in the lane to the the game fell off the rim just before time expired as Florida Gulf Coast University dropped a 63-61 decision to Drake Saturday night in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Eagles (0-4) competed hard for the entirety of the contest but just came up short in the end. The Eagles led at halftime for the first time this season, taking a 31-30 lead after a
Zavian McLean 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the first half. McLean scored a dozen points in the opening 20 minutes and finished with a team-high 17.
Drake (3-0) took its largest lead in the second half at 50-42 with just over nine minutes to go. The Eagles would quickly respond. McLean connected for a 3-pointer, then
Jevin Muniz converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to pull the Eagles within a bucket. After a Muniz steal,
Darren Williams connected on his first collegiate 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 51-50 lead. FGCU would force a Drake shot clock violation on the other end, and
Keeshawn Kellman would connect from down low to make it an 11-0 run.
The teams would swap the lead back-and-forth over the final three minutes.
Rahmir Barno would score in the paint to give the Eagles a 59-58 lead, and after a Drake bucket, the sophomore point guard would find Kellman on an alley-oop to put the guests back out in front, 61-60.
That would prove to be the final bucket for FGCU. The Eagles had a chance to build the lead up to three after a defensive stop, but a shot at the rim wouldn't fall. The Bulldogs would capitalize with a 3-pointer on the other end to take the lead by two, 63-61. FGCU would inbound the ball underneath the Drake basket with 5.8 seconds left, but the final shot of the contest for the Eagles would bounce off the iron and fall into the hands of a waiting Bulldog, giving the hosts the win by two.
Kellman finished with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Barno tied his season and career-high with six assists. Muniz joined McLean and Kellman in double-figures with 13 points.
FGCU struggled to stop Bennett Stirtz on the other end as the Drake guard led all scorers with 25. Daniel Abreu had 17, including the 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds to give his side the lead.
The Eagles shot a season-best 53.1 percent from the field on 26-of-49 shooting. While Drake had more offensive rebounds than the Eagles, FGCU out-scored the hosts 8-5 on second-chance opportunities. The main difference in the box score came at the charity stripe, where Drake was 17-of-25 and FGCU was just 6-of-8.
The Eagles will be back at Alico Arena Friday morning at 11 a.m. for the first game of the FGCU MTE, facing off against Cal State-Bakersfield.
