Keeshawn Kellman tied his career-high with 23 points,
Dallion Johnson added 21, and
Jevin Muniz racked up his second-straight double-double as Florida Gulf Coast University won its Atlantic Sun Conference men's basketball opener for the season with a 79-68 win over the University of West Georgia Thursday night in Carrollton, Georgia.
Kellman was a force down low, connecting on 10-of-11 from the field while also pulling in 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. The sixth-year transfer was also credited with two blocked shots over 31 minutes of action.
Johnson eclipsed the 20-point threshold for the third time this season. FGCU's leading scorer for the year went 7-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-9 from beyond-the-arc. The senior also dished out a career-best four assists as the Eagles had 17 as a team with
Rahmir Barno adding a game-best five.
Coming off his first career double-double, Muniz earned his second in a row as he scored 11 points and grabbed 10 boards. The junior transfer from Delaware State was fouled in the last minute after grabbing his 10th and final rebound and went to the line to earn his 10th and 11th points of the night.
"I'm super-proud of our team," said FGCU head coach
Pat Chambers. "We weren't making shots, but we still stuck it out. We still defended and rebounded. Our defense really saved the day for us and we made some timely 3's and free-throws. It was a really gutty performance from our guys."
It was a tight contest for most of the first half, but the Eagles (6-8, 1-0 ASUN) pulled away in the late stages of the opening 20 minutes. Trailing 25-24, FGCU would score seven of the final 10 points of the half to lead 32-27 at the break. Muniz would go the length of the court in the waning moments to make a lay-up just before the buzzer to give FGCU the five-point advantage heading to the locker room.
West Georgia (2-12, 0-1 ASUN) stayed within arm's length in the early stages of the second half, but the Eagles slowly built up the lead. An alley-oop from
Zavian McLean to Kellman gave the Eagles their first double-digit lead of the game, 45-35, with 14:32 left. The Wolves would get within four, 49-45, with 11:03 left but the Eagles went on a run to start salting the game away. The run was sparked by a Barno feed to Kellman for an old-fashioned three-point play. After a miss on the other end, Johnson connected on a triple try to make it 55-45.
Michael Duax closed the 8-0 run as he finished off a feed from Barno with a dunk after the sophomore collected a steal. UWG would pull within six late, but FGCU would go 7-of-7 from the foul line over the final 3:47 to pull away for the win.
Winners of three straight, the Eagles also won their conference opener for the third season in a row under Chambers. FGCU will try to move its win streak to four this Saturday when it faces Queens University of Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Royals defeated Stetson in their ASUN opener, 96-87. Tipoff in Saturday's game is set for 1 p.m.
