FORT MYERS, Fla. -
Dallion Johnson hit his first seven shots from the field and FGCU didn't allow a shot for the first 4:28 of the game, sparking Florida Gulf Coast University to an 82-60 win over the University of West Georgia in Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball action from Alico Arena Thursday night.
"We focused on our defense," said FGCU head coach
Pat Chambers. "It's our preparation that we had all week. It showed that we focused on defending and rebounding, but we did a good job. The first time we played [UWG] it was a four point game with four minutes to go. It was really nice to see us come out and draw a line in the sand and say we're really going to defend and rebound."
The Eagles (9-9, 4-1 ASUN) moved to .500 on the season for the first time with the win. Winners of three in a row and six of their last seven, the Eagles stayed one game behind Queens University of Charlotte, which will come to Alico for a Saturday afternoon contest at 2 p.m. with first place in the league on the line. Tickets for Saturday's game are available via the FGCU ticket office,
FGCUTickets.com or by calling 1-866-FGCU-TIX (342-8849).
The Eagles started out with a 13-0 lead as UWG (3-15, 1-4 ASUN) couldn't muster a shot over the first 4:28 of the contest. Johnson would stay on fire for the first 20 minutes of the game as his jumper at the 7:41 mark gave FGCU a 23-point lead in the first half. His 17 points over the first 20 minutes were the most by an Eagle in the first half this season, topping his total combined from the previous two games.
"I guess I was just feeling it and I got hot," said Johnson. "I kept shooting and the first couple went in. I was feeling good and getting in good rhythm and getting in a good flow."
The Eagles kept rolling through the second half, building a lead by as many as 30 with 12:52 left in the contest. With the lead at 26 with 6:28 left, Coach Chambers started to bring in the reserves for the rest of the game and UWG forced enough turnovers to pull within 16 with 3:05 left.
Darren Williams would drain a pair of 3-pointers and
Tristen Guillouette would put the icing on the cake with a thunderous dunk to give the Eagles a win by 22.
Four players scored in double-figures for FGCU as
Zavian McLean and
Michael Duax each had 10, with
Rahmir Barno adding 13 off the bench.
Keeshawn Kellman would finish a point and a rebound short of a double-double as his nine boards led all players. Barno added a game-high six assists to his ledger.
The Eagles out-rebounded the Wolves 43-24. FGCU also dominated in the paint, outscoring the guests down low 44-20.
