FORT MYERS, Fla. -
Keeshawn Kellman scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half as Florida Gulf Coast University rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to take the lead but Kennesaw State University came back to win 74-67 in Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball action from Alico Arena Thursday night.
Trailing 52-37 with 13:45 left in regulation, the Eagles (11-17, 5-8 ASUN) went on a 15-2 run over the next three minutes to chop the KSU lead down to two. Kennesaw would push the lead back to four, but the Eagles would see Kellman go to work for three baskets in the paint as the Eagles went ahead 61-60 with just under 7:00 to go.
KSU (15-13, 6-8 ASUN) would get the lead at 62-61, but Kellman would close out a feed from
Cyrus Largie to put the Eagles back up 63-62. That would end up being the final lead of the night for the Green & Blue. A 7-0 spurt would give the Owls the lead 69-63, and while the Eagles would be within four, 71-67, after a
Franco Miller, Jr., bucket with 1:24 left, the Eagles wouldn't score again.
The Eagles trailed 37-30 at the break, with
Dallion Johnson helping to keep the Eagles in the game with 11 points in the opening 20 minutes. Johnson would finish with 15 points and all four of FGCU's 3-pointers on the night. As a team, FGCU went 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from behind the 3-point line, the second-worst mark of the season for the squad.
FGCU will be back in action Saturday night to close out Alico Arena for the 2023-24 season with Queens University of Charlotte visiting for a key ASUN contest. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., with Senior Day festivities scheduled for 20 minutes before the game.
