FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Florida Gulf Coast University men's basketball team delivered a bruising 72-56 victory Tuesday over Jacksonville at Alico Arena.
"Incredibly proud of this group," head coach Pat Chambers said. "They really responded after two tough losses on the road. To come out against a really good Jacksonville team and compete the way we did shows you a lot about our heart and grit."
Rapid Recap:
FGCU set the tone early in the effort to defend the nest from former head coach and now associate head coach of Jacksonville, Michael Fly. The Eagles swatted two shot attempts and forced three Dolphin turnovers in the first five minutes of play.
FGCU controlled the lead for the first 10 minutes, but JU swam ahead 15-14 at the 9:59 mark to register its first lead of the night. Zavian McLean put himself in the perfect spot to step into a deep rebound and connect on three, giving FGCU the lead back 17-14. Dallion Johnson sized up his defender to knock down a step-back three to break a 25-25 tie. The Eagles walked into the locker room up one in the heavyweight fight, 30-29.
FGCU orchestrated a 10-point lead, 49-39, eight minutes into the second half courtesy of a physical finish by Michael Duax. A McLean free throw pushed the lead to 11, but JU responded with a trey to cut the lead back to eight, 50-42. Nine points would be the closest that JU would get.
With 7:30 to play, Jevin Muniz and Roy Stewart hit back-to-back threes off of Dolphin turnovers, putting the Eagles up by 15 (59-44) and forced a JU timeout. Keeshawn Kellman gave the cue to warm up the bus with a windmill dunk just over a minute to play. The dunk gave FGCU its largest lead of the night, 17 up 72-55.
Notes and Numbers:
- Duax provided a team and game-high 18 points. Kellman had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Kellman also shot 7-of-8 from the line. McLean finished with 13 points to help sweep the Dolphins in the regular season.
- FGCU snapped a two-game skid, improving to 15-13 overall and 10-5 in the ASUN. FGCU moved into a three-way tie for third place, sitting just two games back of first with three games to play.
- Ten wins in conference play is the most in the Pat Chambers era.
- Muniz is three points away from reaching the 1,000-career point benchmark.
Up Next:
FGCU heads to Stetson this Thursday to take on the Hatters. Tipoff in DeLand is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
