Jevin Muniz hit from 14-feet as time expired to give Florida Gulf Coast University an 80-78 victory over Florida Atlantic in another cross-coast classic between the two schools Saturday night in Boca Raton.
"I'm super proud of Jevin," FGCU head coach
Pat Chambers said. "He was battling some illness earlier this week and was limited in practice a couple of days. He was a step slow in the first half, but give him a lot of credit for his mental toughness. Somebody woke him up at halftime and he was great on both sides of the ball in the second half."
After a 78-70 lead for FGCU evaporated into a tie with 22.6 seconds to go, the Eagles (3-5) had the ball with the chance to win. With both teams out of timeouts,
Rahmir Barno brought the ball into the front court as the clock spun down. The sophomore and the rest of the five on the court looked to Coach Chambers for the play, and the team started to run the offense as time wound under 14 seconds. Barno handed off to
Michael Duax between the circles. Duax flipped it back to Barno, who handed off to Muniz coming from the left side. The Bethlehem, Pennsylvania native moved toward the right wing, then jab-stepped his way to the center of the court. After a shoulder bump and a jump stop, Muniz faded back with a jumper from just inside the foul line. The ball would rattle through the cylinder, dripping through the nylon as the clock hit 0.0 to send the Eagles bench sprinting to celebrate with Muniz.
"It was another big shot in another big moment, but he's prepared for it," Chambers said. "We practice for moments like that. We know Jevin's either going to get a good shot or he's going to make a good decision."
Both teams played an up-tempo first half, but FAU (4-5) owned a 52-40 lead at the break thanks in large part to 12 3-pointers. "Give FAU credi. They came in and did exactly what a home team is supposed to do," Chambers said. "Our heads were spinning at halftime because they played with great pace and tempo."
The second half would play out differently as the Eagles clamped down defensively. Trailing 59-52, FGCU would go on a 14-0 run over 4:30 of the period to take a 66-59 lead with 9:20 to go. Even after the hosts pulled within two, the Eagles found a response as
Tristen Guillouette scored four in a row and
Rory Stewart connected on a 3-pointer to get the lead up to nine, 73-64. Later in the half, a Duax offensive rebound led to a Muniz triple, making it 78-70.
The Eagles improved to 5-4 all-time against FAU in large part because of FGCU's offensive balance.
Dallion Johnson led the way with 17 for the Eagles. Thanks to the game-winner, Muniz finished with 16, while Duax had a dozen, Stewart had 11 and Barno added 10. Guillouette added nine for FGCU in 17 minutes in addition to three offensive rebounds.
"Rahmir was fantastic," Chambers said. "He didn't have the assists to show for it, but he was a maestro with how he controlled the tempo in the second half and with his paint touches. Tristen brought great energy. Rory adds another dimension as a center that can step out and hit a shot. When we're spreading it around and sharing the ball, we can be a really good team offensively."
FGCU will be back home Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against Furman in the Eagles' second game of a scheduling agreement between the Atlantic Sun and Southern Conferences.
Promotions for Wednesday night's game include an Ugly Sweater Contest, a visit from Santa Claus, and the opportunity to donate a toy and receive an FGCU ornament. For tickets, visit
FGCUTickets.com.
