Isaiah Thompson set a new career-high with eight made 3-pointers as Florida Gulf Coast University rolled past the University of North Florida, 79-60, in Jacksonville, Fla., to clinch a bid to the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship.
The Eagles (13-17, 7-8 ASUN) sit in a tie for sixth in the ASUN standings. A win Friday night at Jacksonville and North Alabama loss at Central Arkansas would give the Eagles the No. 6 seed in the tournament. FGCU could end up seeded as high as No. 5 or as low as No. 9.
"We did a great job getting stops," said FGCU head coach
Pat Chambers. "UNF wasn't making shots, and we got good opportunities in transition. Everybody will talk about IT's 26 points, but he played really well defensively and had four big rebounds for us. He practiced really well this week, so we knew he was going to play like that."
One game after an 18-assist performance by the team, FGCU followed it up with a 17-assist performance. "Our defense and rebounding is dictating our offense," Coach Chambers said. "We're able to get out and share the ball. We got some good paint touches for Keeshawn down low to help open up the perimeter and get some kick-outs."
Unlike the first game between the two sides this year that saw UNF (15-15, 8-7 ASUN) lead for almost the duration, the Eagles never trailed Wednesday night as FGCU started on a 9-2 run and never looked back. The Eagles connected on nine 3-pointers as a team in the first half en route to a 39-31 lead at halftime.
The second half was more of the same as FGCU slowly built a 20-point advantage with 8:55 to go and only saw the lead dip below that mark in the final 90 seconds. Every Eagle that saw more than two minutes on the court found the scoresheet as the Eagles blew out the Ospreys for the victory.
The Eagles won the game even though they only went to the free-throw line three times as a team, making two attempts. Much of this is due to 3-point shooting as, in addition to Thompson's eight,
Dallion Johnson and
Cyrus Largie each had two, and
Zach Anderson,
Rahmir Barno, and
Dakota Rivers each knocked down a shot from beyond the arc.
Defensively, the Eagles held UNF to 36.4 percent (20-of-55) shooting from the field. Largie was placed on UNF's Chaz Lanier defensively and held him to 14 points on 4-of-10 shooting. "Cyrus is playing like a senior," Coach Chambers said. "He defended Lanier as well as anyone has seen in the conference this season."
The win over the Ospreys sets the stage for a Friday night battle across town at Jacksonville to wrap up the regular season. "Jacksonville is such a physical team," said Coach Chambers. "They play so tough and physical. That's their brand of basketball. It's their Senior Night. They've probably got a win and get in situation for the conference tournament. It's going to be a challenging game. We're going to need to defend and rebound like we have the past couple of games."
Tip-off at Swisher Gym on the campus of JU is set for 7 p.m.
