FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast men's basketball came up short against Georgia Southern on Tuesday, 95-94.
"Our identity is defending, rebounding and communicating," head coach
Pat Chambers said. "We didn't do that the last two games. We competed hard – give Georgia Southern credit – they drilled shots. It's a long season, and we have to keep getting better."
The Eagles were led on the night by JR Konieczny, who had a 24 point, 13 rebound double-double.
Rory Stewart scored 18 on 4-for-10 shooting from behind the arc, his best outing of the young season, and
Rahmir Barno scored 21 on 9-for-14 shooting, and had seven assists and three steals.
Darren Williams contributed 13 in his first career start as FGCU's fourth scorer in double digits.
It was a game of runs in the battle of the Eagles. Georgia Southern delivered the first run of the game, hitting four threes and scoring twice on fast breaks to go on a 16-0 run from 11:26 to 8:14 in the first half. FGCU procedurally cut into the lead, evening the game at halftime on a Barno layup.
In the second half, Georgia Southern scattered seven of their 15 made 3-pointers over the first 13 minutes, including an 18-4 run that gave them their largest lead of the night at 15 points with 7:18 to play. During that same timeframe, Stewart and Konieczny combined for 15 of FGCU's 24 points.
After Georgia Southern capped its run with an and-one, FGCU once again strung baskets together, responding with a 13-0 stretch from 7:03 to 4:57, its longest run of the night. Konieczny capped the run with a triple to cut the deficit to 83-81, and cut it to a two-point deficit again with 14 seconds left, but Georgia Southern hit both ensuing free throws after an FGCU foul and a late 3-pointer from Barno sent the game to its 95-94 final.
Next, FGCU stays at home to begin the ASUN-SoCon challenge against Chattanooga at 1 p.m. on Nov. 15.
For more information on FGCU men's basketball, follow @FGCU_MBB on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.
